LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deceived 

Accessions  No.   IcVPWJ.  Class  No. 
library 


SNO.  tjCftej'. 


- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE 

a  flDanual 

FOR  YOUNG   ARCHITECTS,  STUDENTS,  AND  OTHERS 

INTERESTED  IN  BUILDING  OPERATIONS  AS 

CARRIED  ON  AT  THE  PRESENT  DAY 


BY 


T.    M.    CLARK 

FELLOW  OF  THE  AMERICAN    INSTITUTE   OF  ARCHITECTS 


THIRTEENTH  EDITION 


Neto 
MACMILLAN    AND    CO. 

AND    LONDON 


All  rights  reserved 


Engineering 
Library 


- 


COPYRIGHT,   1883, 

BY  JAMES  E.  OSGOOD  &  CO. 


Transferred  to  Macmillan  &  Co.,  March,  1894.     Printed  May,  1894. 
Reprinted  February,  1895. 


J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  — Berwick  &  Smith. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  is  not  a  treatise  on  the  architectural  art,  or 
the  science  of  construction,  but  a  simple  exposition 
of  the  ordinary  practice  of  building  in  this  country, 
with  suggestions  for  supervising  such  work  efficiently. 
Architects  of  experience  probably  know  already  nearly 
everything  that  the  book  contains,  but  their  younger 
brethren,  as  well  as  those  persons  not  of  the  profession 
who  are  occasionally  called  upon  to  direct  building 
operations,  will  perhaps  be  glad  of  its  help. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION, 3 


CHAPTER   I. 
THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  A  STONE  CHURCH, 10 

CHAPTER  II. 
WOODEN  DWELLING-HOUSES,  . 107 

CHAPTER  III. 
A  MODEL  SPECIFICATION, 219 

CHAPTER   IV. 
CONTRACTS, 261 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  A  TOWN  HALL, 269 

INDEX,  ,    333 


'  NOTE. 

*<v       ^ 

THE  observing  reader  will  notice  a  curious  discrepancy  between  the  factors  of  safety 
used  in  calculating  the  strength  of  wooden  beams  in  the  first  and  last  parts  of  the  book, 
three  being  given  as  the  proper  factor  in  determining  the  size  of  the  girders  in  the  stone 
church,  while  six  is  used  in  calculating  the  roof  timbers  of  the  town-hall,  which  forms  the 
subject  of  Chapter  IV,  the  constant  being  the  same  in  both  cases.  As  this  inconsistency 
exactly  represents  the  change  which  took  place  in  the  received  standard  of  strength  for 
beams  of  timber  between  the  sterotyping  of  the  pages  of  the  first  and  last  chapter,  it  is 
perhaps  best  to  let  it  stand,  with  a  proper  warning.  The  factor  of  safety,  three,  used  in 
the  earlier  part  of  the  book,  is  that  still  required  by  the  New  York  Building  Law,  and  the 
constant  is  taken  from  Trautwine's  Handbook,  a  very  conservative  authority.  The  factor 
subsequently  used,  six,  corresponds  with  that  adopted  by  what  were  then  the  latest  and 
most  cautious  writers.  Within  a  few  months,  Professor  Lanza's  experiments  at  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Institute  of  Technology,  upon  large  timbers,  have  shown  conclusively  that 
with  the  constants  hitherto  given  in  the  text-books  even  a  factor  of  safety  of  six  is  too 
small.  In  his  experiments,  upon  beams  ranging  from  four  to  eight  inches  in  width,  by 
twelve  and  fourteen  inches  in  depth,  the  average  breaking  weight  of  selected,  straight- 
grained  timbers  of  spruce  and  Georgia  pine  was  about  one-half  that  given  in  Trautwine's 
tables  as  the  proper  constant  for  each,  and  not  much  mere  than  one-third  the  constants 
adopted  from  Laslett  and  others  by  so  high  an  authority  as  the  South  Kensington  "  Notes 
on  Building  Construction."  In  the  light  of  these  results,  the  New  York  law  is  evidently 
dangerously  misleading,  and  the  floors  calculated  in  accordance  with  it,  so  far  from  being 
three  times  as  strong  as  necessary,  are  on  the  verge  of  collapse ;  while,  with  the  constants 
at  present  in  use,  the  nominal  factor  of  six,  as  employed  by  the  most  prudent  constructors, 
is  really  reduced  to  something  like  two  or  three.  Between  the  varying  and  perfectly 
wbitrary  factors  of  safety  used  by  different  authorities,  and  their  almost  equally  diverse 
constants,  the  whole  subject  of  strength  of  timber  has  hitherto  been  in  a  state  of  most 
unscientific  confusion,  to  which  Professor  Lanza's  investigations  have  added  the  finishing 
touch.  It  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  the  result  of  these  will  soon  be  to  bring  order  out  of 
the  chaos,  by  establishing  our  rules  for  the  strength  of  heavy  beams  upon  definite  knowledge 
instead  of  hasty  inferences.  Meanwhile,  we  will  not  bewilder  our  readers  by  attempting 
to  improvise  any  new  standard  of  our  own,  but  will  simply  say  that  until  a  better  rule  ii 
offered,  by  using  one-half  of  Trautwine's  constants  as  the  true  one,  and  a  factor  of  safety 
of  four,  they  can  obtain,  in  calculating  their  future  beams,  a  result  in  reasonable  accord- 
ance  with  the  present  state  of  knowledge  on  the  subject. 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


THE  DIRECTION  OF  BUILDING  OPERATIONS. 

ALL  who  have  had  any  experience  in  the  supervision  of  building 
operations  know  the  importance  of  having  a  systematic  plan  in  pur- 
suing their  examination  of  any  given  work,  and  the  difficulty,  with- 
out such  aid,  of  giving  adequate  attention  to  all  the  innumerable 
points  of  construction  which  require  notice  at  their  proper  time,  and 
before  they  are  covered  up  or  built  over,  so  as  to  make  changes  incon- 
venient or  impossible,  and  there  are  few  who  cannot  recall  instances 
of  vexatious  mistakes,  costly  alterations,  or  buildings  left  insecure 
through  want  of  attention  at  the  right  moment  to  defects  which  an 
hour's  labor  would  then  have  remedied.  To  the  young  architect,  espe- 
cially, judging  from  the  writer's  own  experience,  a  manual  which 
may  help  to  direct  his  attention  to  all  the  various  details  which 
should  be  noticed,  and  put  him  in  mind  of  the  defects  to  be  looked 
for  at  each  stage  of  a  given  construction,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  use,  and 
such  a  manual,  it  is  hoped,  the  following  pages  will  supply.  No 
doubt  there  will  be  imperfections  and  omissions ;  but  the  writer  trusts 
they  will  not  be  found  very  numerous,  and  that  such  as  may  exist 
will  be  duly  criticised  and  corrected  by  those  competent  to  do  so. 
Reference  will  be  made  to  the  different  modes  of  building  which  pre- 
vail in  various  localities,  so  far  as  the  writer's  knowledge  permits,  as 
much  for  the  purpose  of  comparison  and  criticism  as  for  the  sake  of 
extending  the  usefulness  of  the  work. 

The  general  subject  of  superintendence  will  be  considered  under 
the  three  heads  of  Stone  Buildings,  Wooden  Buildings  and  Brick 
Buildings. 

In  the  division  of  Brick  Buildings  will  be  special  reference  to 
the  distribution  of  weights,  and  those  details  of  boiler  and  steam 
work,  and  ventilation,  which  are  more  commonly  to  be  consid- 


4  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ered  in  connection  with  city  structures  than  others;  and  under 
Wooden  Buildings  the  questions  of  grading,  cellar-work  and  drain- 
age will  be  dwelt  upon,  which  continually  call  for  settlement  in  coun- 
try construction. 

In  each  class  the  progress  of  a  typical  building  will  be  described, 
from  the  first  breaking  of  ground  to  the  completion  of  the  work, 
showing  the  successive  stages  of  construction  and  the  order  of  de- 
livery of  material  on  the  ground,  such  as  they  would  be  found  by  the 
superintendent  in  his  periodical  visits.  At  each  imaginary  visit 
occasion  will  be  taken  to  call  attention  to  points  which  need  to  be 
considered  at  that  particular  stage,  although  the  execution  of  them 
may  belong  to  a  subsequent  period,  and  some  general  directions  for 
judging  of  the  quality  of  materials  will  be  given  at  the  tune  they 
make  their  first  appearance  on  the  premises. 

From  a  sense  of  its  great  importance,  the  writer,  although  not 
considering  himself  peculiarly  qualified  for  the  task,  will  endeavor, 
in  treating  of  the  different  kinds  of  work,  to  present  a  standard  by 
which  each  sort  can  be  judged.  Nothing  is  more  embarrassing  to  the 
young  architect  than  to  be  called  upon  to  decide  a  dispute  between 
contractors  and  owner  on  the  question  of  what  constitutes  a  u  good, 
substantial,  and  workmanlike  manner  "  of  executing  any  particular 
piece  of  construction.  He  is  not  likely  to  commit  the  error  of  being 
too  lenient  in  his  requirements,  but  he  may,  if  unaccustomed  to  practi- 
cal work,  be  led  into  unreasonable  exactions  or  untenable  positions 
which  he  will  subsequently  have  to  abandon,  to  the  detriment  of  his 
reputation  and  authority.  It  often  happens  that  the  owner  has 
formed  a  priori  an  ideal  of  what  the  work  should  be,  which  does  not 
agree  with  the  actual  execution,  and  he  consequently  refuses  to  ac- 
cept it,  or  claims  an  allowance  in  the  price  on  account  of  what  he 
asserts  to  be  defective  workmanship ;  and  the  architect  is  called  upon 
to  decide  between  the  parties.  In  such  cases  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  him  to  be  able  to  show  such  thorough  familiarity  with 
common  practice  as  will  command  the  respect  of  both.  Without  this 
he  is  continually  liable  to  do  injustice  either  to  the  contractor  or  his 
client,  as  well  as  to  incur  their  ill-will.  Take,  for  instance,  a  question 
which  sometimes  actually  occurs  in  the  case  of  buildings  faced  with 
freestone  ashlar.  The  owner,  perhaps,  has  been  reading  some  text- 
book on  construction  and  has  come  across  the  familiar  direction  that 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  0 

"  all  stones  used  in  masonry  should  be  laid  on  their  natural  bed." 
On  his  next  visit  to  his  building  he  looks  for  the  application  of  this 
rule  and  is  surprised  to  find  every  stone  in  the  facing  set  up  edge- 
ways. He  sends  for  the  contractor,  who  professes  never  to  have 
heard  of  any  rules  about  beds,  and  declines  the  owner's  request 
either  to  take  down  the  masonry  and  do  it  over  again,  or  to  make  a 
discount  from  the  contract  price  of  the  work.  The  disputants  then 
betake  themselves  to  the  architect,  who  finds  all  his  resources  of  tact 
and  experience  required  to  convince  the  owner  that  although  his  rule 
might  be  theoretically  correct,  universal  custom  justified  the  con- 
tractor in  violating  it.  He  is  sure  to  be  sharply  questioned,  and  if 
his  practical  knowledge  proves  defective,  all  his  rulings  in  favor  of 
the  builder  expose  him  to  suspicion  and  discredit. 

It  will  be  of  advantage,  however,  in  connection  with  the  discus- 
sion of  the  usual  practice  in  the  different  kinds  of  work,  to  point  out 
such  improved  methods  as  are  sometimes  used,  but  with  a  caution  to 
the  reader,  that  under  the  common  contract  the  builder  cannot  be 
compelled  to  use  them  at  his  own  expense,  unless  they  are  recognized 
in  the  best  ordinary  practice  of  the  locality  to  which  he  belongs,  or 
are  particularly  mentioned  in  the  specification,  although  most  good 
mechanics  are  glad  of  any  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  their 
work,  even  at  some  extra  cost  to  themselves,  and  will  be  equally 
grateful  for  any  help  toward  a  uniform  standard  of  practice,  to 
which  both  they  and  the  architects  can  refer. 

For  the  discomfiture  of  bad  workmen,  the  young  architect  will  be 
warned  against  some  of  the  ways  in  which  defective  materials  or 
construction  are  covered  up,  and  will  be  reminded  to  look  for  bad 
work  before  the  building  arrives  at  so  advanced  a  stage  that  it  can 
no  longer  be  detected  or  remedied. 

To  save  space,  it  is  supposed  that  the  reader  is  familiar  with  the 
principles  of  construction  as  given  in  the  text-books,  and  with  the 
common  forms  of  specifications  and  building  contracts.  Any  one  in 
need  of  such  elementary  information  will  find  Dobson's  "Art  of 
Building,"  in  Lockwood's  series,  the  best  cheap  work  on  the  general 
subject,  and  Brooks's  "  Dwelling  Houses,"  in  the  same  series,  will 
afford  some  additional  details  in  its  special  branch.  As  a  complete 
and  authoritative  text-book,  however,  no  work  within  our  knowledge 
can  compare  with  the  three  volumes  of  "  Notes  on  Building  Con- 


6  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

struction,"  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  English  Science  and  Art 
Department  at  South  Kensington,  and  published  by  Rivingtons, 
Waterloo  Place,  London. 

For  those  who  read  French,  Ramee's  /*  Architecture  Pratique " 
will  be  an  extremely  practical  and  useful  little  book,  while  those 
who  have  sufficient  leisure  will  find  the  time  necessary  for  the  study 
of  Rondelet's  standard  work,  the  "  Traite  Theorique  et  Pratique  de 
1  'Art  de  Batir  "  well  repaid. 

There  are  many  other  useful  works,  both  in  French  and  English, 
which  treat  of  various  portions  of  the  subject.  Among  the  best  are 
Wightwick's  "  Hints  to  Young  Architects,"  published  in  Lockwood's 
series,  with  Hatfield's  "  American  House  Carpenter,"  published  by 
Wiley  &  Son,  New  York. 

The  specifications  in  the  English  books  are  useless  in  this  country, 
our  materials,  modes  of  construction,  and  technical  terms  differing 
completely  from  those  in  use  across  the  water,  but  models  which  will 
serve  very  well  as  guides  for  the  non-professional  reader  in  the  con- 
struction of  brick  or  stone  buildings  will  be  found  in  the  printed 
specifications  for  public  structures  of  various  kinds,  copies  of  some 
of  which  can  generally  be  had  by  inquiring  of  the  proper  officers. 
For  wooden  buildings,  the  best  work  in  print  is  perhaps  Mr.  Win.  T. 
Hallett's  "  Specifications  for  Frame  Houses,"  published  by  Bicknell 
&  Comstock,  New  York.  If  a  form  of  contract  is  desired,  a  very 
good  one  can  be  found  in  Mr.  Hallett's  book,  or  blank  agreements 
for  building,  as  well  as  a  special  form  for  "  mechanics'  work,"  can 
be  obtained  of  any  stationer.  These  forms  are  not  all  that  could  be 
desired,  but  do  very  well  for  ordinary  cases. 

One  or  two  preliminary  remarks  may  be  made  before  describing 
the  actual  processes  of  inspection. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  necessary  to  be  as  familiar  as  possible  with 
the  plans  and  other  drawings  of  the  building  to  be  constructed. 
Nothing  is  of  so  much  service  in  rendering  the  labors  of  the  super- 
intendent valuable  to  his  employers  and  himself  as  the  thorough 
understanding  of  the  projected  building  which  will  enable  him  to 
foresee  the  consequences  of  every  step,  to  judge  of  the  position  and 
workmanship  of  each  part  of  the  edifice,  while  in  process  of  con- 
struction, with  reference  to  its  final  use  and  finish.  His  duty  is  only 
half  fulfilled  if  he  trusts  blindly  to  the  accuracy  of  the  plans.  He 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  7 

should  examine,  compare  and  correct  them  minutely,  thoroughly, 
and  frequently.  It  is  impossible  in  the  architect's  office  to  avoid  all 
mistakes  in  drawing  or  figuring,  but  such  as  escape  the  eye  of  the 
busy  professional  man  can  easily  be  detected  by  a  little  care  in  com- 
paring them  with  the  work  on  the  ground,  and  this  duty  clearly  be- 
longs to  the  superintendent.  Not  only  should  he  make  sure  of  the 
accuracy  of  the  plans,  but  he  must  also  look  out  beforehand  for  other 
points  which  may  affect  or  hinder  the  construction  when  once  begun. 
If,  for  instance,  the  drawings  show  stone  and  brick  work  bonded  to 
gether  in  elevation,  it  should  be  his  duty  at  once  to  procure  bricks  of 
the  kind  to  be  used  in  the  facing,  and  lay  them  up  with  mortar  joints 
of  the  usual  or  specified  width,  in  order  to  ascertain  with  certainty 
the  height  which  a  given  number  of  courses  of  brick  will  lay.  It  is 
common  in  such  work  to  assume  that  five  courses  of  brick  will  lay 
one  foot  in  height,  and  the  detail  drawings  for  the  stonework  are 
often  made  and  figured  accordingly.  If,  then,  as  often  happens,  the 
particular  brick  used  is  a  little  thicker  or  thinner  than  the  standard, 
the  stone  once  cut  from  an  incorrect  assumption  will  fail  to  bond 
properly,  and,  if  it  cannot  be  recut,  must  either  be  thrown  away  or 
inserted  as  best  it  may,  the  wide  joints  and  irregular  lines  bearing 
witness  to  the  incompetency  of  the  one  who  directed  the  work. 

Even  supposing  the  plans  to  be  correct,  the  superintendent  will 
find  many  opportunities  for  saving  both  contractor  and  owner  from 
the  annoyance  and  expense  caused  by  the  carelessness  of  workmen. 
It  is  impossible  to  get  the  ordinary  mechanic  to  concern  himself 
about  the  future  matters  which  will  depend  upon  his  work,  and  a 
little  foresight  in  supervision  will  prevent  many  careless  deviations 
from  the  drawings  or  specifications,  which,  although  the  contractor 
would  be  bound  to  correct  them,  he  will  be  glad  to  have  detected 
in  season  to  save  him  that  expense,  and  will  show  his  gratitude  by 
special  endeavor  to  please.  Another  important  point  in  efficient 
supervision  is,  after  inspecting  the  materials  delivered,  to  make  sure 
that  those  rejected  are  removed  from  the  premises.  If  they  are 
marked  for  rejection,  as  they  should  always  be,  let  the  mark  be  on 
the  face  of  the  cracked  or  thin  stone,  or  on  the  upper  side  of  a 
"  waney "  floor-board,  so  that  it  can  be  recognized  if  it  should  be 
afterwards  put  into  the  work.  If  this  precaution  is  not  taken,  and 
if  the  marks  are  not  made  in  such  a  manner  that  they  cannot  be 


8  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

rubbed  or  planed  off,  materials  once  discarded  will  be  smuggled 
into  the  building  in  spite  of  the  injunctions  of  the  superintendent  or 
contractor. 

It  is  impossible  to  be  too  thorough  in  e»ch  periodical  inspection  of 
the  building.  It  will  not  do  to  examine  one  portion  one  day  and 
another  the  next ;  the  proper  way  is  to  go  all  over  the  structure  at 
each  visit.  Wherever  a  man  is  working,  or  has  been  working  since 
the  last  inspection,  go  and  see  what  he  has  done.  In  this  way  it  will 
be  possible  to  gain  that  definite  knowledge  of  every  portion  of  the 
structure  which  is  the  only  security  against  concealed  vices  of  work- 
manship. 

One  other  precaution  must  be  observed :  let  not  the  young  archi- 
tect put  too  much  faith  in  what  workmen  say  to  him.  The  best  of 
them  dislike  to  pull  down  or  change  what  is  already  done,  and  if  in- 
advertence or  temporary  convenience  has  led  them  into  palpable 
violations  of  the  specifications,  they  will  often  stretch  the  truth  con- 
siderably in  their  explanations  and  excuse.  Some  are  much  worse 
than  this,  and  will  deliberately  avail  themselves  of  the  credulity  and 
inexperience  of  the  young  architect  under  whose  authority  they 
come,  to  obtain  from  him,  both  before  and  after  the  execution  of  the 
work,  such  concessions  from  and  interpretations  of  the  strict  letter 
of  the  specification  as  will  be  most  to  their  profit.  It  is  difficult  for 
one  who  is  not  quite  certain  that  he  knows  how  to  distinguish  be- 
tween fresh  and  damaged  cement,  for  instance,  to  persist  in  rejecting 
a  lot  of  which  he  has  suspicions,  but  which  the  builder  declares  to 
be  not  only  of  the  best  quality,  but  the  only  lot  of  that  quality  which 
can  be  procured  without  seriously  delaying  the  work,  and  if  the 
superintendent  is  found  to  be  accessible  to  such  representations,  his 
credulity  is  sure  to  be  tested  on  many  other  points.  The  only  way 
in  which  young  architects  can  escape  being  occasionally  made  vic- 
tims of  such  practices,  is  for  them  to  make  up  their  minds  what  is 
right  by  the  best  light  that  they  can,  and  insist  on  their  directions 
being  followed.  With  a  little  thought,  and  assiduous  study  of  other 
buildings  in  process  of  construction,  it  need  rarely  happen  that  their 
orders  will  be  unreasonable,  and  a  firm  stand  on  such  occasions  as 
arise  in  the  early  stages  of  the  work  will  not  only  make  their  subse- 
quent duty  much  lighter  and  pleasanter,  but  will  often  save  them 
ultimate  discredit  and  regret. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


9 


•  These  preliminary  remarks  are  applicable  to  every  kind  of  build- 
ing. Others  might  be  added,  but  as  they  may  perhaps  be  better 
understood  and  remembered  in  connection  with  some  practical  illus- 
tration, it  will  be  as  well  to  defer  their  consideration  until  they  pre- 
sent themselves  in  treating  of  a  particular  class  of  work. 


THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  A  STONE  CHURCH. 

CHAPTER  L 

THERE  are  many  advantages  in  beginning  the  study  of  construction 
with  stone  buildings.  Such  structures  require  a  minuteness  of  at- 
tention, and  a  precision  and  accuracy  of  workmanship,  superior  to 
that  which  is  generally  bestowed  upon  buildings  of  any  other  material, 
and  the  careful  and  continual  measuring,  levelling  and  verifying  which 
they  demand,  together  with  the  foresight  which  must 
Construction  De  exercised  in  order  that  all  parts  of  the  masonry  and 

Buildings,  wood-work  may  come  together  without  error,  tend  to 
form  habits  which  are  of  great  value  in  the  direction 
of  any  kind  of  building  operation.  Moreover,  the  construction  of 
most  stone  buildings  involves  calculations  of  thrust;  of  pressures, 
vertical  and  oblique ;  the  resistance  of  materials,  and  many  other 
technical  problems  well  fitted  to  exercise  and  develop  the  capacity  of 
the  young  professional  man,  while  the  comparative  slowness  with 
which  they  are  erected  affords  him  sufficient  time  for  a  careful  con- 
sideration and  •solution  of  such  questions,  which  is  not  always  pos- 
sible in  the  case  of  lighter  structures. 

If  it  is  considered  also  that  stone-masonry  of  some  kind  enters  in- 
to nearly  all  building  operations,  and  that  foundation-works,  even  of 
light  erections,  sometimes  require  the  over- 
coming of  serious  difficulties,  the  propriety 
of  introducing  the  general  subject  by  its 
most  intricate  and  technical  branch  will  be 
sufficiently  plain. 

The  church,  of  which  we  propose  to  fol- 
low the  construction,  is  intended  to  be  sit- 
uated  on   an  elevated   ground,   descending  irregularly  toward   the 
east.     The   soil  appears  to  be  gravelly,  but  variations  in  the  ap- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


11 


peaiance  of  the  grass  over  the  lot  indicate  that  the  sub-soil  is  not 
uniform.  The  total  difference  in  the  level  of  the  ground  in  the 
length  of  the  proposed  building  is  about  six  feet. 

The  church  is  to  be  cruciform  in  plan,  with  clerestory  and  nave 
aisles ;  the  chancel  to  be  without  aisles,  as  wide  as  the  nave,  and  with 
a  semicircular  apsidal  termination.  The  principal  entrance  is  to  be 

through  the  tower,  which  stands  at 
the  south-west  angle,  forming  the 
termination  of  the  south  aisle  of  the 
nave,  and  there  is  a  second  entrance, 


opening  into  the  transept  through  a  small 
enclosed  porch  which  occupies  the  angle 
between  the  transept,  which  has  consider- 
able projection,  and  the  south  aisle  of  the 
nave.  East  of  the  north  transept  is  the 
organ-chamber,  with  wide  openings  into 
transept  and  chancel.  The  corresponding 
angle  between  the  south  transept  and  the 
chancel  is  occupied  by  the  robing-room, 
with  private  entrance  from  the  outside. 
Under  the  chancel  is  a  society-room,  entered 
directly  by  steps  from  the  outside.  The  rest 
of  the  space  under  the  building  is  used  for 
a  cellar,  reached  by  a  circular  stone  stair- 
case in  a  staircase-turret  attached  to  the 
main  tower.  The  same  stair  ascends  also 
to  the  bell-chamber.  The  whole  building,  including  the  spire,  is  faced 
with  brown  freestone  from  the  floor-line  upward.  The  basement 
wall,  from  the  floor-level  to  the  ground,  is  faced  with  granite.  The 


Fig.  4. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Ashlar. 


foundation-walls,  and  the  backing  of  the  walls  above  ground,  are  of 
a  slaty  local  stone.  The  spire  and  staircase-turret  are  backed  with 
brick. 

In  the  interior,  the  clerestory  arches,  an*d  the  caps  and  bases  of  the 
columns  which  carry  them,  are  of  Ohio  freestone.  The  plinths  and 
shafts  of  the  columns  are  granite,  the  shafts  being  polished.  The 
chancel  steps  are  of  marble ;  the  vestibules  are  tiled  with  marble ;  and 
the  chancel  floor  is  laid  with  encaustic  tiles.  The  outside  steps  are 
granite,  and  the  winding  stair  in  the  turret  is  of  hard  brown  sand- 
stone. 

The  exterior  stone  facing  is  specified 
to  be  "  neat  random  ashlar,  quarry-face, 
with  pitched  joints."  This 
means  that  all  the  exposed 
surfaces  are  to  be  freshly  split,  without 
weather-worn  faces,  such  as  would  be 
admissible  if  rock-face  were  specified, 
and  that  the  joints,  instead  of  irregularly 
projecting,  as  is  permissible  in  some  en- 
gineering work  (Fig.  1),  are  to  be 
"  pitched  off  "  to  a  line  previously  drawn 
around  the  stone,  all  parts  of  which  lie 
in  a  true  plane  at  right  angles  with  the 
surfaces  formed  by  the  joints.  This  is 
done  with  a  "  pitching  tool "  or  wide 
chisel  with  a  very  thick  edge  (Fig.  2), 
and  the  result  is  to  furnish 
Dressing  blocks  which,  however  rough 
Stone.  an(j  projecting  in  the  centre, 
all  possess  four  well-defined  edges,  by 
means  of  which  they  can  be  placed  upon 

and  beside  each  other  with  as  much  accuracy  as  the 
smoothest-faced  stones,  presenting  a  surface  like  that 
shown  in  Fig.  3. 

Other  parts  of  the  exterior  stone-work  are  differently  treated ,  the 
spire  is  to  be  a  "broach "  (Fig.  5),  and  the  arrises,  or  edges,  of  the 
octagonal  spire,  as  well  as  of  the  broaches,  are  to  have  chiselled  draft 
lines  (Fig.  4)  two  inches  wide.  There  will  be  also  draft  lines  one  and 


Fig.  5. 


Pitched 
Joints. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


la 


one-half  inches  wide  around  all  openings,  and  the  reveals  of  openings, 
together  with  all  cornices,  copings,  weatherings  of  buttresses,  washes 
of  sills,  roof  of  staircase-turret,  and  bands  in  spire,  will  be  crandled ; 

that  is,  brought  to  a  plane  surface  by 

f      i  XT-,.        ^         Crandle. 

means  of    the    crandle   (i  ig.    6), 

which  is  a  toothed  hatchet  composed  of  eight 
or  ten  pointed  chisels  wedged  tight  into  a 
frame  with  a  handle.    With  this  tool  the 
surface  of  the  stone  is  obliquely  struck 


Fig.  6. 

until   the   inequalities 

have  been  reduced  and  the 

surface  is  covered  with  short 

parallel  furrows,  all  running  in 

the  same  direction.    (Fig.  7.)    The 

workman  is  then  changed,  and  the  tool 

other  direction,  so  as  to  make  furrows  crossin 


Fig.  7 

position  of  the 
applied  in  the 
the  first.      By  this 


means  a  comparatively  smooth  surface  is  formed,  covered  with  a  netr 
work  of  short  lines.  (Fig.  9.)  Before  beginning  the  work  a  line  is 
drawn  around  the  stone,  and  the  joints  either  pitched  off  to  this  line, 
as  before  described,  or  a  chisel  draft  sunk  all  around  the  face  until  the 
line  is  reached.  (Fig.  8.)  Whichever  mode  is  adopted,  by  removing 
the  rough  projections  of  the  central  portion  first  with  a  toothed  chisel 

and  then  with  the  crandle 

until  it  is  reduced  to  the 

plane  of  the  draft  line,  a 

true  surface  is  obtained. 

It  need   hardly  be   said 

that  the  first  operation  in 

all  stone-cutting  is  to  form 

the  joints,  and  from  these 
four  surfaces,  at  right  angles  to  each  other  (Fig.  10),  all  the  other 
bounding    planes    of    the    finished   stone    are   derived. 
The  tracery  of  the  windows  is  droved  ;  that  is,  finished 
by  working  over  the  entire  surface  with  a  wide  chisel,  so  as  to  cover 


Fig.  9. 


Fig.  8. 


Droving. 


u 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


it  with  parallel  lines,  all  running  in  the  same  direction,  except  around 
arches,  where  they  radiate  from  the  same  centre  as  the  curve  of  the 
arch.  (Fig.  11.) 

Of  the  granite,  the  ashlar 
is  quarry-faced,  with  pitch- 
ed joints  like  the  sandstone. 
The  "wash"  or  upper  in- 
clined surface  of  the  water- 
table  is  pene 
Pene 
Hammering,    hammered; 

that  is,  pounded 

with  a  heavy,  double-edged  hatchet,  or  "  pene  hammer,"  until  the  in- 
equalities are  chipped  away  and  the  surface  is  reduced  to  a  plane, 
determined  by  draft  lines  previously  drawn,  and  covered  with  coarse 
parallel  lines.  The  outside  steps,  and  the  reveals  and  sills  of  basement 
openings,  receive  a  further  finish,  by  being  pounded  all  over,  after 
the  pene  hammer  has  done  its  work,  with  a  ' '  bush  hammer,"  or  as 

some  say,  "patent  hammer," in  which  several  parallel 
Hammering,    blades  are  .bolted  into  an  iron  frame  with  a  handle. 

This  instrument  (Fig.  12)  also  leaves  parallel  marks 
on  the  stone,  but  much  finer  than  those  of  the  pene  hammer.  For  the 
outside  work,  a  tool  having  six  blades  to  the  inch  will  give  a  sufficiently 
smooth  surface,  which  is  specified  as  "  six-cut."  The  plinths  of  the 
interior  columns  are  first  pene  hammered,  then  six-cut,  and  finally 
"ten-cut,"  with  a  bush  hammer  having  ten 
blades  to  the  inch,  which  leaves  the  stone 
very  smooth.  Eight  blades  would  give  an 
intermediate  finish.  The  joints  and  beds 
of  the  granite  are  "  pointed,"  or  brought  ^ 
to  a  roughly  plane  surface  by  means 
of  the  "  point,"  a  short,  thick  chisel, 
with  a  very  short  edge,  often  less 
than  a  quarter-inch  in  length. 

The  interior  capitals  and  a  portion 
of  the  arch  mouldings,  as  well  as  the 
finials  and  some  other  outside  work,  are  carved.  The  marble  steps 
to  the  chancel  are  polished.  In  the  carved  work  it  is  important 
to  leave  all  the  marks  of  the  chisel  untouched.  Inferior  workmen 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


sometimes  smooth  and  rasp  the  carving,  to  the  destruction  of  its 
crispness  and  beauty.  The  rest  of  the  interior  freestone,  on  the  con- 
trary, will  be  rubbed.  This  is  usually  done  by  laying  stones  sawed 
to  a  suitable  thickness,  either  with  steel  blades  supplied  with  sand 
and  water,  or  with  the  much  more  rapid  diamond  saw,  face  down- 
ward on  a  large  mill-stone  revolving  horizontally.  This  smooths  off 
the  lines  left  by  the  saw,  and  the  surface  thus  given  is  left  to  form  the 
face  of  the  work.  The  granite  shafts  are  polished  by  machinery 
emery  of  different  grades  being  first  used,  after  the  stone  is  brought 
to  a  smooth  surface  with  tools ;  followed  by  "  tin 
putty,"  or  precipitated  oxide  of  tin,  which  pro- 
duces a  glass-like  lustre.  For  red  granite,  the  so- 
called  jewellers'  rouge,  or  crocus,  which  is  really 
an  oxide  of  iron,  is  used  for  polishing,  and  the 
particles  which  find  their  way  into  the  crev- 
ices of  the  granite  are  allowed  to  remain, 
for  the  sake  of  heightening  the  color. 
Occasionally  the  final  gloss  is  given 
with  wax,  but  this  fraud  can  be  de- 
plication  of  a  hot  cloth,  or  by  ex- 


Fig.  12. 


tected  by  the  ap- 
posure  to  the  weath- 
lustre  so  obtained. 

The  roof  is   open-tim- 
trusses  and  arched  ribs,  the 
purlins,  being  of  hard  Southern 


er,  which  quickly  removes  the 


bered,  with  hammer-beam 
trusses,  as  well  as  the 
pine.  The  trusses  are 
covered  with  matched  pine  boards,  tarred  felt,  and  slate,  and  the 
panels  formed  by  the  purlins  and  trusses  are  lathed  and  plastered. 
The  interior  is  furred  with  studding,  lathed  and  plastered.  A  pan- 
elled wainscot,  four  feet  high,  runs  around  the  room. 

The  interior  of  the  tower,  which  forms  a  vestibule,  is  lined  with  i 
four-inch  wall  of  face-brick,  separated  by  a  two-inch  air-space  from 
the  outside  wall,  but  tied  to  it  with  iron  anchors.  This  lining  ex- 
tends the  whole  height  to  a  ceiling  of  moulded  girders,  forming  panels 
filled  with  matched-and-beaded  sheathing,  and  covered  with  tin  on 
top.  The  space  above  this,  though  accessible  from  the  staircase-tur' 
ret.  is  left  rough,  up  to  the  "  bell-deck,"  also  covered  with  tin,  on 
which  stands  the  framing  for  the  peal  of  bells,  which  should  be  as  far 
as  possible  independent  of  the  tower  walls. 


16  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  interior  of  the  society-room  beneath  the  chancel  is  lined  with 
a  four-inch  brick  wall,  separated  by  a  two-inch  air-space  from  the 
outside  masonry,  and  tied  to  it  with  iron,  and  is  plastered  on  the 
inner  brickwork.  The  walls"  of  the  robiag-room  and  organ-chamber 
are  furred,  lathed  and  plastered.  The  tiled  floors  of  the  vestibules  and 
chancel  are  set  on  bricks  laid  upon  boarding  cut  in  between  the 
beams.  All  the  other  floors  are  double,  the  under  boards  of  spruce 
throughout,  and  the  upper  flooring  of  Georgia  pine  in  the  society- 
room  ;  elsewhere  of  white  pine.  Interior  finish  is  of  hard  wood. 

The  foregoing  description  contains  a  brief  abstract  of  the  specifica- 
tions. In  accordance  with  these  the  contract  has  been  signed,  and 
the  builder,  or  the  contractor  for  the  excavation,  as  the  case  may  be, 
meets  the  architect  upon  the  ground  to  lay  out  the 
work.  If  a  special  plan  has  been  prepared,  with  the 
exact  dimensions  of  the  walls  and  the  lengths  of  the 
diagonals  in  plain  figures  upon  it,  the  setting-out  will  be  much  simpli- 
fied, and  there  will  be  less  danger  of  mistake,  but  the  cellar  plan  is 
often  the  only  drawing  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  the  additions 
or  subtractions  necessary  to  give  the  dimensions  of  the  trenches  must 
be  made  on  the  spot. 

In  important  works  it  is  best  to  call  upon  an  engineer  to  set  out 
the  lines,  but  circumstances  may  make  it  necessary  to  do  without  such 
professional  aid.  In  any  case,  the  architect  should  always  be  present. 

Some  builders,  and  a  few  architects,  possess  an  engineer's  compass, 
by  means  of  which  they  can  "  turn  off  "  the  various  angles  around 
the  building  with  precision ;  but  in  most  cases  the  parties  will  arrive 
at  the  spot  furnished  only  with  a  tape-measure,  a  few  stakes,  and  a 
"  mason's  square,"  consisting  of  three  pieces  of  wood  nailed  together 
in  such  a  way  as  once  to  have  formed,  perhaps,  a  right-angled  triangle. 
Even  these  rude  instruments  will,  however,  suffice,  if  the  tape  is  accu- 
rate, and  especially  if  the  architect  has  had  the  forethought  to  bring 
a  second  tape,  which  will  much  facilitate  matters. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  stake  out  the  outside  lines  of  the 
main  walls  of  the  building,  the  "ashlar  lines,"  as  they  are  called. 
Many  persons  neglect  these  in  the  first  laying  out,  and  run  only  the 
exterior  lines  of  the  cellar-wall,  which  usually  projects  three  or  four 
inches  beyond  the  ashlar  lines,  but  the  danger  of  mistakes  is  much 
lessened,  and  the  work  in  the  end  simplified,  by  setting  out  at  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


17 


beginning  the  perimeter  of  the  main  walls,  and  then  drawing-  par- 
allel lines  outside  of  these  to  indicate  the  face  of  basement-walls,  or 
the  line  of  excavation,  as  the  case  may  be.  By  this  means  the  exact 
relation  of  foundation  and  superstructure  is  shown  at  a  glance,  and 
there  is  no  danger  of  a  line  drawn  to  indicate  the  face  of  the  founda- 
tion being  mistaken  for  the  ashlar  line,  and  the  wall  being  built 
several  inches  outside  of  it,  as  sometimes  happens  where  only  one 
line  is  given  at  first,  much  to  the  detriment  of  subsequent  work. 

The  staking  out  of  the  plan  must  begin  by  the  establishment 
of  some  main  rectangle  or  triangle,  to  which  the  various  projections 
can  be  added  one  after  the  other.  In  this  instance, 
the  preliminary  figure  may  be  the  rectangle  formed 
by  the  nave,  including  the  aisles,  from  the  west  front 
as  far  as  the  transepts.  Having  fixed  upon  the  location  of  the 
building,  the  line  of  the  west  front  is  determined,  and  upon  this 
line  is  measured  the  width  of  the  nave  with  the  aisles,  to  .the  out- 
side of  the  aisle  walls.  A  short  stake  should  be  driven  into  the 
ground  at  each  end,  and  a  copper  tack  in  the  head  of  the  stakes 
will  indicate  the  exact  points.  The  next  step  is  to  run  lines  from 
these  points  at  right  angles  with  the  first  line,  which  will  represent 
the  face  of  the  aisle  walls.  If  a  surveyor's  compass  is  at  hand,  the 

right  angle  is  easily  turned  off ; 
if  not,  the  best  way  of  proceed- 
ing is  that  shown  in  Fig.  13, 
where  A  B  is  the  line  of  the 
west  front,  X  Y  marking  the 
width  of  nave  and  aisles.  Find 
from  the  plans  the  distance  Y  T, 
from  the  west  front  to  the  angle 
of  the  transept,  and  calculate  the 
diagonal  distance  from  X  to  T, 
B  by  adding  the  squares  of  X  Y 
and  Y  T,  and  extracting  the 
(The  square  of  the  hypothenuse  of  a 
right-angled  triangle  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  on  the  legs.) 
Then  take  two  tapes  and  placing  the  ring  of  one  at  X,  and 
of  the  other  at  Y,  measure  from  X  on  the  first  the  length  of  the 
diagonal  just  found,  and  on  the  second  the  distance  Y  T,  and 


;\     / 

%                                ^ 

I 

\ 

\            y 

i 

X 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/                              \ 

X 

/ 

Y 

Fig.  13. 

square   root   of  their  sum. 


18 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Ta  Leve° 


bring  the  two  points  together.  Mark  the  place  where  the  measure- 
ments on  the  two  tapes  coincide  with  another  stake  and  copper  tack. 
Change  the  tapes  over,  and  measure  X  S  equal  to 
Y  T,  and  the  diagonal  Y  S  equal  to  X  T,  and  mark 
the  spot  where  the'  points  ag^ain  coincide  with  a  fourth 
stake  and  tack.  Verify  the  work  by  measuring  the  distance  between 
the  two  eastern  stakes,  S  and  T,  which  should  equal  that  between  X 
and  Y.  If  the  measurements  have  been  accurately  made,  the  four 
stakes  will  form  the  corners  of  a  perfect  rectangle.  Care  must  be 
taken  to  keep  the  measuring-tape  level.  If  the  ground 
falls  in  any  direction,  the  tape  should  at  the  lowest 
point  be  held  up  so  that  the  ends  will  be  at  the  same 
level,  and  a  plumb-line  dropped  from  the  correct  point  on  the  tape  to 
the  ground  will  give  the  position  of  the  stake.  It  will  save  time  and 
trouble  to  have  the  lengths  of  the  diagonals  calculated  beforehand 
and  marked  on  the  plans ;  not  only  for  the  main  rectangle  but  for 

minor  ones.  r .3 f 

Perhaps  two  tapes  will  not  be  at  hand, 
or  the  mathematical  attainments  of   the 
-party   may  not 
extend    to    the 
extractionof 
square  roots.  In 

that  case,  after  /  Fig.  15. 

setting  out  the 
line  of  the  west- 
ern front  as  be- 
fore, measure  off 

one  of  the  two  long  sides  of  the  preliminary  rectangle,  as  nearly 
at  right  angles  with  the  base  line  as  possible.  By  stretching  a  string 
for  the  base  line,  with  another  for  the  long  side  of 
Ff  the  rectangle,  the  latter  can  be  brought  approximately 
to  the  proper  direction  by  the  help  of  the  mason's 
square  (Fig.  14)  or  by  the  application  of  the  "  three,  four  and  five 
rule  " ;  which  consists  in  marking  a  point  on  one  string  three  feet 
from  the  angle,  and  on  the  other  four  feet  from  the  same  angle,  then 
adjusting  the  relative  position  of  the  two  until  a  straight  line  drawn 
diagonally  across  the  angle,  between  the  two  points,  measures  exactly 


Fig.  14. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


IS 


five  feet.  (Fig.  15.)  Then  the  two  strings  will  form  a  right  angle, 
since  5  is  the  hypothenuse  of  a  right-angled  triangle  whose  other 
sides  measure  4  and  3  feet. 

Having  found  the  angle  approximately  by  these  means,  a  stake 
should  be  temporarily  driven  at  the  extremity  of  the  long  side  of  the 
rectangle  so  found,  and  the  other  side  set  out  parallel  with  this,  by 
measuring  the  distance  C  D  (Fig.  16)  equal  to  A  B,  from  the  point 
C,  distant  on  a  second  line,  A  C,  as  far  from  A  as  D  is  distant  from 


Fig.  16. 


"I 

i        /  \          I 

I  /    \  I 

i  /  \    i 

I  / 


Fig.  17. 


B.  Then  the  figure  A  C  D  B  will  be  a  parallelogram,  since  its  oppo- 
site sides  are  equal ;  but  it  may  not  be  a  rectangle.  As  a  test,  the 
diagonals  should  be  measured.  If  they  are  unequal,  the  figure,  in- 
stead of  being  rectangular,  has  the  form  of  which  Fig.  1 7  is  an  exag- 
gerated representation.  To  remedy  this,  move  the  stake  D,  at  the 
farthest  extremity  of  the  longest  diagonal,  toward  the  stake  C,  a  dis- 
tance about  equal  to  two-thirds  of  the  difference  in  length  between 
the  two  diagonals.  Then  move  the  stake  C  an  equal  distance  in  the 
same  direction,  so  as  to  keep  the  length  of  that  side  of  the  rectangle 
correct.  Measure  the  diagonals  again,  and  if  now  found  to  be  equal, 
verify  all  the  measurements,  then  drive  the  stakes  firmly  and  set  cop- 
per tacks  as  before.  This  preliminary  rectangle  having  been  accu- 
rately marked  out,  the  rest  of  the  work  follows  easily. 

Lay  out  the  transepts  by  stretching  a  line  through  the  eastern  side 
of  the  rectangle  just  found,  prolonging  it  indefinitely  at  each  end. 
Prolong  also  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  rectangle  indefinitely 
eastward.  Lay  off  the  projection  of  the  transept,  as  figured  on  the 


20 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


\ 
-j 


D 


plan,  on  the  extension  of  the  east  side  of  the  rectangle ;  from  this 
point,  parallel  to  the  main  axis  of  the  building,  measure  the  proper 

width  of  the  transept.  Measure  the  same  distance  on 
Rectengles.  tlie  Prolongation  °f  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the 

rectangle,  and  from  the  points  thus  found  lay  off  again, 

approximately  at  a  right  ^_ 

angle,  the  projection  of 
the  transept.  Join,  if 
they  do  not  already  co- 
incide, this  point  to  the 
corresponding  one  found 
by  measuring  parallel  to 
the  axis;  the  place  of 
meeting  will  be  the  true 
north-east  or  south-east 
angle  of  the  transept. 
Drive  stakes  at  all  the 
angles  thus  found,  and  set 
copper  tacks  to  mark  the 
exact  points. 

These  secondary  rec- 
tangles, representing  the 
transepts,  will  have  their 
angles  correct  without  further  trouble,  since  A  C  D  B  having  been 
made  truly  rectangular,  the  angle,  F  D  E,  included  between  the  pro- 
longations of  the  lines,  D  B  and  C  D,  which  include  a  right  angle,  will 
itself  be  a  right  angle,  and  one  angle  of  the  parallelogram,  D  F  G  E, 
of  which  the  opposite  sides  are  measured  equal,  being  a  right  angle, 
the  others  are  also  right  angles. 

To  determine  the  apsidal  curve,  both  for  the  walls  and  the  excava- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  fix  the  centre,  from  which  an  arc  of  the  requis- 
ite radius  can  be  struck  whenever  needed.  (A,  Fig.  19.) 

The  usual  way  of  striking  such  an  arc  is  to  drive  a  strong  stake  at 

the  centre,  with  a  nail  or  spike  inserted  at  the  proper 
CJur^e.0  place  in  the  head  of  the  stake,  and  using  a  long  rod 

with  a  notch  fitting  against  the  central  spike  and  cut 
to  the  requisite  radius  to  describe  the  curve.  At  the  first  setting-out, 
such  a  stake  may  be  driven  for  temporary  use,  the  apsidal  semi- 


B 


Fig.   18. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


21 


circle  described  and  marked  with  a  number  of  small  stakes  or  a 
line  cut  in  the  turf  with  a  spade.  Then  the  excavation  can  begin 
at  this  line,  but  as  the  central  stake  would  soon  be  dug  away,  it 
is  necessary  to  provide  means  for  recovering  it  at  pleasure.  This 
can  best  be  done  by  fixing  points  entirely  outside  the  excavation 
from  which  lines  can  be  stretched  which  will  by  their  intersection 
indicate  the  point  required.  For  our  purposes  four  such  points 
will  be  necessary.  Two  of  these,  J  K,  may  with  advantage  be  sit- 
uated on  the  prolongations  of  the  lines  which  show  the  northern 
and  southern  ashlar  lines  of  the  transepts,  and  the  distance  from  the 
angles,  G  and  H,  of  the  transepts  should  be  twice  the  distance  from 
the  centre  of  an  imaginary  line  connecting  G  and  H  to  the  point,  A. 
Then  two  cords,  one  stretched  from  H  to  J,  and  the  other  from  G  to 
K,  will  cross  each  other  over  A.  One  more  step  remains  to  be  taken. 
As  the  stakes  which  at  first  indicate  the  actual  points,  G  and  H,  will 

K.  .. ^  J 

X 


H 


•i 


'-?. 


Fig.  19. 


be  removed  by  the  excavation,  it  is  necessary  to  drive  supplementary 
stakes,  P  and  Q,  with  copper  tacks  in  their  heads  at  any  point  on  the 
lines  just  found.  Then  cords,  stretched  from  these  intermediate 
points,  will  serve  the  same  purpose  as  if  drawn  through  to  G  and  H, 
and  the  stakes  which  mark  them  will  not  be  disturbed.  The  second- 


22 


BUILDING   SUPEKINTENDENCE. 


ary  rectangles,  which  are  formed  by  the  aisles,  tower,  porch,  robing- 
room,  or  organ-room,  can  be  easily  laid  out  in  the  same  manner  as 
that  described  for  the  transepts. 

As  the  stakes  which  now  mark  the  corner  of  the  building  will  be 
dug  away  as  soon  as  the  excavation  is  begun,  it  is  necessary  to  pn> 
vide  some  further  means  by  which  their  positions  can  still  be  shown 
when  the  stakes  themselves  are  removed.  This  is  done  in  much  the 
same  way  that  the  centre  of  the  apse  circle  was  fixed,  —  by"  making 
the  point  to  be  marked  fall  at  the  intersection  of  two  straight  lines 
drawn  from  some  more  distant  stations,  which  in  the  case  of  the  cor- 
ners of  a  rectangle  may  best  be  situated  on  the  prolongations  of  its 
sides,  as  shown  in  Fig.  20,  where  the  point,  A,  is  marked  with  as 
much  precision  by  the  intersection  of  the  lines  stretched  from  the  in- 
definite points,  X  and  Y,  as  it  would  be  by  a  stake. 

0) f| 


Fig.  21. 


Y 

Fig.  20. 


Fig.  22. 

In  practice,  the  points,  X  and  Y,  are  usually  given,  not  by  stakes,  but 


Batter-Boards. 


by  notches,  or  horizontal  "  batter-boards,"  which  are 
nailed  to  stout  stakes,  five  or  six  feet  apart.  (Fig.  21.) 
Two  of  these  batter-boards  are  necessary  to  determine  each  angle 
(Fig.  22),  and  as  it  is  of  great  importance  that  they  should  be  firm 
and  permanent,  they  must  be  set  up  four  or  five  feet  back  from  the 
edge  of  the  excavation,  or  more,  if  this  is  to  be  very  deep,  and  the 
stakes  set  firmly  in  the  ground.  They  must,  moreover,  be  as  nearly 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  23 

on  a  level  as  possible,  those  which  stand  at  the  lower  portions  of  the 
site  being  raised  on  high  but  strong  stakes.     Having  set  up  these 
batter-boards   opposite   the   corners   already  found,  lines 
should  be  stretched  between  them  (Fig.  23)  so  as  to  coin- 
cide with  the  lines  already  marked  by  the  stakes.     Plumb- 
lines  suspended  from  the  cords  over  the  stakes  will  show 
when  they  pass  exactly  over  the  copper  tacks  which  mark 
the  precise  points  to  be  transferred,  and  as  each  line   is 
accurately  fixed,  a  small  notch  should  be  cut  in  the  board 
where  the  string  passes  over  it.     When  all  the  lines  are 
fixed  upon  the  batter-boards,  the  first  set  of  notches  will, 
if  the  ashlar  face  of  the  walls  was  taken  for  the  measure- 
ments, serve  at   any   time  to   fix   the   line   of   that   face 
1      ^  for  any  wall.     The  projection  of  the  water-table  or  base 
course  beyond   the  ashlar  surface,  the  projection  of   the 
outer  face  of  the  foundation,  the  thickness  both  of  the  foundation 
and  the  superstructure,  can  be  indicated  by  notches  on  the  batter- 
boards,  measured  from  the  original  notch,  and  marked  so  that  they 
can  be  readily  distinguished,  as  shown  in  Fig.  24. 


in 

•      1 


Fig.  24. 

It  is  well  to  fix  one  batter-board,  at  least,  at  the  height  of  some 
given  level  of  the  building,  as  for  instance,  at  the  top  of  the  water- 
table.     If  an  engineer  is  at  hand,  or  if  the  architect    . 

......  ,  Bencn  Mark. 

or  contractor  can  use  a  level,  there  is  a  great  advantage 

in  setting  the  top  of  all  the  batter-boards  at  exactly  this  height :  then 
the  masons  will  be  able,  when  the  time  comes  for  setting  this  course, 
to  level  across  from  the  batter-boards  at  various  points,  and  thus 
obtain  a  line  more  perfectly  horizontal,  and  with  less  trouble  than 
would  be  possible  by  starting  from  a  single  point. 

The  fixing  of  the  batter-boards  completes  the  setting-out  of  the 
building,  and  a  line  may  then  be  cut  with  spades,  some  fifteen  or  six- 
teen inches  outside  of  the  original  stakes,  which  can  then  be  removed 
and  the  work  of  excavation  begun. 


24 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


l  mportance 


All  the  business  of  s'taking  out  the  building  belongs  properly  to  the 

contractor,  unless  an  engineer  is  employed,  but  the  architect  should 
always  be  pres- 
ent to  see  it  done 
and  verify   the 
m  e  a  s  u  rements, 

and  especially  to  observe  the 

accuracy  of  the  angles.     The 

crucial  test  of  the  rectangularity 

of  the  lines  is  the  measurement 

of  the  diagonals,  which  should 


Fig.  25. 

If  this  is  not  attended  to 


be  insisted  upon,  and  the  stakes 
shifted  patiently  until  they  are  correct, 
at  the  outset,  the  superintendent  is  very  likely  to  see  subsequently 
the  upper  walls  here  and  there  overhanging  the  foundation,  in  the 
attempt  to  bring  back  the  superstructure  to  its  proper  shape  (Fig.  25); 
or,  in  the  finishing,  to  find  doors  and  windows  unexpectedly  cramped 
or  thrown  out  of  centre,  the  pattern  of  the  tesselated  pavement 
tapering  off  to  nothing  at  one  end,  the  frescoed  ceilings  misshapen, 
carpets  fitting  badly,  or  some  other  of  the  innumerable  vexations  and 
irremediable  consequences  of  incorrect  setting-out. 

While  the  workmen  are  cutting  the  sod  in  long  strips  and  rolling 
it  up,  which  may  be  desirable  if  it  can  be  used  for  improving  por- 
tions of  the  lot,  it  is  necessary  to  choose  places  where  the  loam  from 
the  surface  and  the  gravel  from  beneath  may  be  piled 
Disposal  of  up  separately  in  "  spoil-banks,"  out  of  the  way  of 
building  operations,  but  near  at  hand  for  use  in  the 
subsequent  grading.  Nothing  is  more  common  than 
to  see  the  earth  from  a  cellar  thrown  out  at  one  edge  of  the  exca- 
vation, to  be  soon  after  shovelled  over  again  in  order  to  dig  a  place 
for  some  pier  or  post ;  then,  perhaps,  the  middle  of  the  heap  turned 
over  a  third  time,  to  cut  a  trench  for  drain  or  other  pipes,  and 
finally  the  greater  part  of  the  mass  shovelled  again  into  wheel- 
barrows, and  transported  halfway  around  the  building,  to  be  used 
for  grading  up  in  some  place  on  the  other  side,  where  it  might  just 
as  well  have  been  thrown  in  the  first  place. 

Let  the  young  superintendent,  therefore,  think  where  the  gravel  is 
likely  to  be  used  for  grading  or  road-building,  and  how  the  heaps 


Excavated 
Material. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  2fc 

can  be  most  conveniently  arranged,  in  reference  both  to  its  future 
use,  and  to  the  least  laborious  mode  of  bringing  it  from  the  cellar. 
The  amount  of  material  which  the  cellar  will  furnish  can  be  approxi- 
mately estimated  with  very  little  trouble,  as  well  as  the  quantity 
which  will  be  needed  for  the  grading  about  the  building,  so  that  if 
there  proves  to  be  a  surplus  which  must  be  provided  for,  places  may 
be  arranged  for  disposing  of  it,  either  in  filling  up  hollows  about  the 
lot,  grading  the  approaches,  forming  terraces,  or  other  improve- 
ments ;  and  the  earth  may  then  be  excavated  from  the  cellar,  hauled 
to  the  place  designated,  and  dumped  in  immediately,  without  having 
to  be  twice  handled.  Wherever  grass  is  intended  to  cover  the  new 
surface,  loam  must  be  piled  near,  or  brought  from  other  parts  of  the 
excavation. 

The  location  of  the  avenues  and  paths,  with  the  drainage  works 
necessary,  should  be  determined  at  the  outset,  and  marked  upon  the 
plan  which  the  superintendent  must  have  always  at  hand  to  refer  to. 

A  large  space  on  the  most  level  part  of  the  ground,  and  not  far 
from  the  principal  entrance,  should  be  reserved  for  unloading  and 
piling  up  timber,  and  for  framing.     Room  must  also  be  left  for  de- 
livering stone  at  various  points  around  the  building, 
and  for  other  materials.     Especially  should  the  area     tteSeneS  for 
about  the  main  entrance  be  kept  free  of  obstruction.       Materials. 
These  cares  properly  belong  to  the  contractor,  since 
the  extra  expense  and  delay  caused  by  re-handling  and  improper  dis- 
posal of  material  must  be  paid  by  him,  but  the  efficient  and  intelligent 
conduct  of  such  works  is  indirectly  advantageous  to  all  parties,  and 
the  superintendent,  by  his  greater  familiarity  with  the  plans,  as  well, 
perhaps,  as  his  superior  skill  in  interpreting  their  indications,  is  able 
to  foresee  future  contingencies  more  clearly  even  than  those  who  will 
suffer  most  by  want  of  due  precaution. 

Applying  these  observations  to  our  present  building,  we  notice  the 
conditions  to  be  as  follows  :  The  street  runs  along  the  south  side  of 
the  lot ;  and  the  ground  sloping  gently  toward  the  east,  the  best  place 
for  the  entrance  roadway  will  be  near  the  western  end 
of  the  building,  arranging  it,  if  no  other  considerations  Grading. 

oppose,  so  that  the  grade  will  ascend  slightly  from  the  street.  This 
will  be  of  advantage  in  securing  an  outlet  for  water  into  the  street- 
gutters  during  heavy  rains.  The  building  is  not  on  the  crest  of  the 


26  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

hill,  the  ground  rising  continuously  westward.  It  will  therefore  be 
necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  the  water  running  down  the  hill  from 
reaching  the  walls,  which  it  would  soon  saturate,  to  grade  up  at  the 
west  front  of  the  church  sufficiently  to  turn  it  back  by  a  slight  slope 
in  the  reverse  direction;  and  it  will  improve  the  appearance  of  the 
structure  to  have  this  graded  surface  somewhat  extensive,  so  as  to 
form  a  plateau  in  front  of  the  building,  nearly  level,  and.  spacious 
enough  to  turn  a  carriage  easily.  This  level  will  be  continued  along 
the  south  wall  of  the  church  as  far  as  the  porch  opening  into  the 
south  transept,  forming  a  terrace,  wide  enough  for  a  foot-path,  and 
regaining  the  natural  surface  southward  and  eastward  by  easy  slopes. 

The  avenue  crosses  a  small  natural  basin  before  reaching  the  pla- 
teau, and  beyond  it  continues  along  the  north  side  of  the  building  to 
the  sheds,  which  are  situated  at  some  distance  to  the  north-east.  A 
separate  foot-path  from  the  street  leads  to  the  entrances  of  the  robing- 
room  and  the  society-room  in  the  basement. 

The  gravel  from  the  excavation  will  therefore  be  principally  needed 
for  the  plateau  and  terrace  on  the  west  and  south  sides,  and  for  the 
paths  and  avenues ;  and  the  loam  will  nearly  all  be  used  on  the  south 
side,  where  a  deep  soil  is  desirable  to  insure  a  good  growth  of  grass. 
It  should  therefore,  as  it  is  stripped  from  the  surface  of  the  excava- 
tion, be  piled  in  a  heap  south  of  the  south  transept. 

It  will  be  very  advantageous  for  the  avenue  to  have  it  hardened  by 
the  traffic  of  heavy  teams  bringing  materials,  and  equally  an  advan- 
tage for  the  teams  to  have  a  practicable  road  for  wet  weather,  in- 
stead of  being  obliged  to  go  over  the  grass-land,  which  is  soon  cut 
into  a  mass  of  mud.  Hence  while  the  turf  and  loam 
Avenue  ig  being  stripped  off  the  site  of  the  church,  the  drive- 
way should  be  staked  out,  together  with  the  plateau 
in  front  of  the  church,  and  the  terrace,  and  in  order  that  the  new 
material  may  unite  with  the  subsoil  beneath,  the  surface  should  be 
ploughed,  the  loam  taken  off,  and  added  to  the  main  "  spoil-bank." 

As  fast  as  this  is  done,  a  gang  of  laborers  should  dig  a  trench 
eighteen  inches  wide  and  two  feet  deep  on  each  side  of  the  roadway, 
throwing  the  gravel  into  the  middle ;  and  then  611  these  trenches  half 
full  of  stones,  put  six  inches  of  hay  or  straw  over  the  stones,  and 
throw  back  gravel  enough  So  fill  the  trenches. 

The  French  drain,  or  trench  filled  with  stones,  should  be  continued 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  27 

around  the  side  of  the  plateau  next  the  hill,  and  made  considerably 
deeper  in  that  place  —  three  to  six  feet,  according  to  the  springiness 
of  the  soil.  The  object  of  it  is  to  prevent  water  from  working  in  at 
the  sides  and  softening  the  gravel  of  the  road  just  below  the  surface, 
breaking  this  up,  however  hard  it  may  have  become.  If  stones  can- 
not be  had,  agricultural  drain-tile  may  be  laid  in  the  trench,  and  the 
joints  covered  over  with  a  piece  of  paper  before  filling  up  with 
gravel,  The  road  thus  defended  against  the  undermining  influence 
of  water  from  the  sides  will  soon  be  dry  and  hard,  though  below  the 
general  surface,  and  ready  for  the  gravel-carts  which  will  by  this 
time  be  ready  to  bring  their  loads  from  the  cellar  excavation,  coming 
to  the  surface  by  a  runway  at  the  eastern  end,  where  the  height  is 
least,  and  passing  along  the  rudimentary  avenue  at  the  north  side  of 
the  building  to  deposit  them,  first  on  the  plateau,  until  that  is  brought 
up  to  the  height  required,  and  then  upon  the  avenue,  a  sufficient 
quantity  being  dumped  in  the  hollow  near  the  end  to  bring  up  the 
grade  to  a  uniform  slope  with  the  rest. 

Besides  the  deep  intercepting  drain  around  the  upper  edge  of  the 
plateau,  it  is  best  in  all  but  the  most  porous  soils  to  make  another 
French  drain  under  the  plateau  itself,  in  the  shape  of  a  V,  the  ver- 
tex of  which  points  up  the  hill,  while  the  extremities  of  the  legs  end 
in  the  road  drains,  one  to  the  north  and  the  other  to  the  south  of  the 
western  end  of  the  church.  This  will  prevent  the  water  which  falls 
upon  or  gets  in  beneath  the  fresh  surface  of  the  plateau  from  running 
along  the  comparatively  hard,  sloping  stratum  of  natural  soil  beneath 
toward  the  foundation  walls  of  the  building,  which  will  soon  be  pen- 
etrated by  its  persistent  flow.  It  will  be  best  to  leave  the  avenues  at 
a  grade  about  six  inches  below  the  final  level.  If  well  drained  they 
will  soon  become  hard  under  the  heavy  traffic,  and  a  final  coating  of 
six  inches  of  screened  gravel  at  the  completion  of  the  building, 
brought  to  a  neat  surface,  will  give  a  good  and  durable  finish  to  the 
work. 

The  terracing  along  the  south  side  may  be  provided  for  most 
economically,  if  the  ground  is  firm,  by  directing  the  excavated  mate- 
rial on  that  side  to  be  thrown  out  on  the  bank  without  loading  into 
carts ;  but  if  the  soil  is  soft  or  sandy,  the  edge  of  the  excavation  must 
not  be  weighted  with  material  until  the  cellar  walls  are  built,  or  it  is. 
liable  to  cave  in. 


28  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  contractor  for  the  building  is  not  obliged  to  do  all  these  work  j, 
unless  they  are  mentioned  in  the  specification  or  contract.  In  gen- 
eral, if  there  is  no  agreement  otherwise,  the  builder  is  expected  to 
take  off  and  reserve  the  sods,  transport-and  pile  the  loam  and  gravel 
separately  wherever  directed  within  the  bounds  of  a  reasonably  large 
lot,  but  he  would  not  be  expected  to  spread  and  level  the  material, 
except  about  the  building,  unless  such  levelling  were  mentioned  spe- 
cifically. The  other  works  mentioned,  although  they  are  best  carried 
on  at  the  same  time,  would  be  included  in  a  separate  contract  in  con- 
nection with  the  subsequent  terracing,  planting,  sodding,  or  gardener's 
work  which  might  be  determined  upon  for  the  general  adornment  of 
the  lot. 

To  recapitulate  the  most  important  things  to  be  remembered,  and 
Recapituia-  precautions  to  be  observed  in  first  laying  out  the  build- 
tion.  ing  and  starting  the  work  :  — 

Examine  the  figures  on  the  plans,  to  see  if  they  are  correct. 

See  that  the  steel  or  other  tapes  used  are  divided  into  feet  and 
inches,  not  into  feet  and  tenths  of  a  foot. 

Stake  out  provisionally  the  actual  ashlar  lines  of  the  building. 

Measure  the  diagonals  of  the  principal  rectangles. 

Transfer  the  lines  given  by  the  stakes  to  batter-boards,  permanently 
fixed.  If  the  ground  is  not  level,  or  nearly  so,  the  horizontal  dimen- 
sions must  be  measured  level,  and  transferred  to  the  stakes  by  a 
plumb-line.  After  determining  the  ashlar  lines,  the  foundation-walls 
should  be  marked  on  the  batter-boards,  and  the  lines  of  the  excava- 
tion given  about  eight  inches  outside  the  face  of  the  foundations. 

Set  some  permanent  mark  representing  either  the  top  of  the  floor- 
beams,  the  water-table,  or  any  other  convenient  level,  providing  care- 
fully for  the  change  in  the  surface  of  the  ground  which  will  be  made 
by  the  subsequent  grading.  Write  distinctly  on  this  stake  or  "  bench 
ma  rk  "  the  level  which  it  is  intended  to  represent,  and  also  the  depth 
of  the  cellar  bottom  below  it,  allowing  three  inches  for  concrete. 

Consider  and  decide  about  the  laying-out  of  the  lot,  and  if  any  of 
the  avenues  can  be  used  in  the  building  operations  have  them  imme- 
diately staked  out,  cleared  of  loam,  and  drained. 

Confer  with  the  contractor  in  regard  to  the  most  convenient  place 
for  delivering  the  materials  and  dumping  gravel.  Explain  to  him 
ae  future  plan  of  grading,  and  interest  him  in  your  provisions  for 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  29 

avoiding  unnecessary  handling  of  the  earth,  so  that  your  directions 
may  not  seem  arbitrary.  Remember  to  leave  spaces  as  follows  :  — 

Not  less  than  2,500  square  feet  for  piles  of  lumber. 

Two  or  three  plots  of  500  square  feet  each  for  brick  and  rubble. 

About  500  square  feet  for  other  materials. 

These  to  be  near  the  building,  but  leaving  space  for  heavy  teams  to 
drive  up,  unload,  turn,  and  go  out.  Space  may  also  be  needed  near 
the  street  as  follows  :  — 

1,000  square  feet  for  stone-cutting  sheds. 
1,000     "  "       rough  blocks  of  stone. 

Determine  the  position  of  the  main  provisional  entrance,  and  keep 
the  approach  to  it  clear.  This  entrance  need  not  necessarily  be  one 
of  the  regular  church  doors.  In  this  instance,  the  main  access  to  the 
church,  through  the  tower,  is  somewhat  tortuous  for  the  introduction 
of  long  timbers  or  other  bulky  materials,  so  that  it  will  be  best  to 
provide  a  temporary  one,  which  can  be  done  by  leaving  the  arch  of 
the  large  west  window  open  down  to  the  ground.  When  the  neces- 
sity for  so  large  an  entrance  is  over,  the  wall  can  easily  be  built  up 
as  high  as  the  sill. 

SECOND    VISIT. 

We  will  suppose  that  the  matters  treated  of  in  the  foregoing  notes 
have  been  satisfactorily  disposed  of,  and  the  laborers  have  been  some 
days  at  work.  By  this  time  it  will  be  necessary  to  appear  again  up- 
on the  ground.  The  second  visit  finds  the  loam  removed,  and  the 
excavations  completed  down  to  the  cellar  bottom  at  the  western  end. 
Teams  are  hauling  rubble-stone  for  cellar  walls,  and  a  car-load  of 
staging  lumber  has  arrived  on  the  ground. 

Let  the  superintendent  begin  by  going  all  around  the  outside  of 
the  building,  comparing  the  excavated  lines  with  the  marks  on  the 
batter-boards.     Any  mistakes  should  be  pointed  out 
at  once,  before  they  are  driven  from  the  mind  by 
other  matters.     Next,  let  him  make  the  tour  of  the  in- 
side of  the  excavation,  examining  the  bank  carefully.     He  finds  the 
ground  at  the  lower,  or  eastern  end  to  be  a  fine  gravel  mixed  with 
stones.     The  bank  at  the  upper  end,  for  five  or  six 
feet  below  the  surface,  is  composed  of  a  similar  gravel,      P£f ^he*0' 
but  below  this  appears  a  stratum  of  greenish  clay,  hard    Excavation. 
at  the  upper  part,  but  softening  into  mud  below.    The  clay  continues 


30 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Clay  Stratum. 


along  the  bank  to  the  site  of  the  tower,  where  it  ends  in  a  large  ma?s 
of  loose  slaty  rock,  from  which  water  trickles  rapidly.  The  south 
side  of  the  tower  excavation,  shows  only  gravel. 

These  appearances  demand  careful  consideration,  for  they  indicate 
a  state  of  affairs  involving  both  serious  dangers  to  be  overcome,  and 
costly  extra  works  to  be  planned,  and  the  payment  for  them  satis- 
factorily arranged. 

The  operations  which  will  be  necessary  in  the  present  case  will  be 
best  understood  by  going  through  a  process  of  reasoning  similar  to 
that  which  should  occupy  the  superintendent's  mind  on  viewing  the 
circumstances. 

The  appearance  of  the  hard  clay  stratum  a  short  distance  below 
the  gravel  at  the  upper  side  of  the  excavation  warns  us  that  it  is  first 
of  all  necessary  to  cut  off  the  water,  which  in  rainy 
"  weather  will  soak  through  the  gravel,  and  collecting 
on  top  of  the  clay  will  follow  it  down  hill  in  a  wide,  shallow  sheet, 
so  that  the  foundation  wall,  at  the  line  where  the  clay  stratum  comes 

against  it,  would  soon  be  soaked. 
We  have  had  the  trenches  cut  eight 
inches  wider  than  the  wall,  express- 
ly for  the  purpose  of  allowing  this 
to  be  built  up  smooth  and  independ- 
ent on  the  outside,  and  protecting 
it  by  filling  the  vacant  space  with 
gravel,  which  will  intercept  a  part 
of  the  descending  sheet,  but  this  is 
not  enough ;  a  trench  must  be  dug  a 
few  feet  in  front  of  the  west  wall 
of  the  church,  deep  enough  to  cut 
Fig*  26>  into  the  clay  stratum  the  whole 

length.  If  the  clay  bed  slopes  northward  or  southward,  as  well  as 
eastward,  the  trench  may  follow  it  downward,  discharging  into  one  of 
the  road  drains.  (Fig.  26.)  If  its  section  in  that  direction  is  hori- 
zontal, the  trench  may  take  the  form  of  a  shallow  V,  with  an  outlet 
at  each  end.  These  trenches  are  to  be  half  filled  with  loose  stones, 
covered  with  straw  or  hay,  and  filled  up  with  gravel. 

The  water  descending  the  hill  on  the  surface  of  the  clay  stratum 
is  thus  completely  intercepted,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  ledge  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


31 


rocks,  which,  as  we  have  ascertained,  extends  beneath  the  clay  bed, 
there  would  be  no  need  of  any  further  precautions,  unless  to  give  a 
little  extra  depth  to  the  trenches  in  the  clay,  to  insure  against  the 
effects  of  frost,  which  will  penetrate  a  foot  deeper  in  a  clay  soil  than 
in  dry  gravel. 

But  by  closer  attention  we  shall  find  that  the  clay  bed  is  uniformly 
hardest  at  the  top,  and  grows  softer  downward,  being  softest  just 
above  the  ledge.  This  means  that  the  rain  falling  on  the  hill  above, 
filtering  down  through  the  gravel  and  clay  strata  till  it  reaches  the 
rock,  is  there  arrested  and  compelled  to  descend  along  its  surface, 
working  its  way  between  the  stone  and  the  overlying  clay,  which  it 
reduces  to  a  mud  so  thin,  after  protracted  wet  weather, 
that  the  superincumbent  material  will  slide  along 
top  of  the  ledge  thus  lubricated,  if  any  way  is  open  for 
it  to  escape.  The  indications  are  that  the  ledge  extends  along  the  whole 
western  line  of  the  building,  and  by  excavating  the  church  cellar,  a 
space  will  be  open  into  which  the  clay,  pressed  upon  by  the  weight  of 
the  walls  which  come  over  that  portion  of  the  foundation,  will  be  able 
to  force  its  way,  the  cellar  floor  rising  and  the  wall  settling,  as  the 
soft  mud  beneath  is  squeezed  out  under  the  load.  (Fig.  27.)  This  is 

no  imaginary  danger, 
but  is  the  certain  con- 
sequence of  the  oper- 
ations proposed.  How 
can  the  programme  be 
changed  to  meet  the 
difficulty? 

It  might  be  possible 
to  cut  an  intercepting  trench  in  the  ledge,  similar  to  that  by  which  we 
propose  to  cut  off  the  water  descending  on  the  surface  of  the  clay ; 
but  this  would  be  expensive,  and  there  might  be  seams  of  loose  rock, 
like  that  found  under  the  tower,  through  which  the  streams  would  run 
in  the  interior  of  the  ledge,  and  coming  again  to  its  surface  below  the 
trench,  would  render  this  useless. 

Might  not  the  foundation  be  carried  through  the  clay  to  the  rock 
itself? 

This  would  be  effectual  in  preventing  settlement,  but  from  the  in- 
clination of  the  surface  of  the  ledge  exposed  under  the  tower  at  the 


Fig.  27. 


82  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

north-west  corner,  we  can  roughly  estimate  that  the  rock  under  the 
north-west  angle  would  be  at  least  ten  feet  below  the  cellar  bottom, 
and  to  carry  the  foundation  to  this  depth  would  add  materially  to  the 
cost  of  the  building.  Besides,  it  would'be  hardly  wise  to  dam  up  the 
descending  water  by  a  continuous  wall,  which  would  be  in  danger  of 
being  gradually  undermined  by  the  flow.  Rather  let  us  bring  up  piers 
from  the  rock,  with  arches  below  the  cellar  floor  level,  and  the  wall 
can  then  rest  on  these  arches  without  danger  of  settlement,  while  the 
water  will  find  its  way  between  them  and  continue  its  course,  far 
enough  below  the  cellar  floor  to  do  no  harm.  For  these  piers  we  will 
use  concrete,  which  will  be  much  cheaper  than  brick  or  stone  masonry, 
and  will  resist  better  the  undermining  action  of  the  subterranean 
water. 

A  short  deliberation  is  needed  to  convince  us  that  this  is  the  best 
mode  of  overcoming  the  difficulty,  and  the  arches  are  marked  out  on 
the  foundation  plan,  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  west  front, 
leaving  the  largest  opening  in  the  middle  of  the  wall,  under  the  great 
west  window.  Whether  similar  arches  shall  be  continued  under  the 
north  and  south  walls  is  next  to  be  considered ;  but  these  are  so  much 
lighter  than  the  west  gable  wall  that  their  effect  on  the  clay  bed 
would  be  far  less ;  moreover,  this  bed  is  here  at  a  much  greater  dis- 
tance from  the  surface,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  effect  of  a 
vertical  pressure  would  be  to  press  it  outward,  instead  of  inward 
toward  the  excavation,  so  that  the  weight  and  inertia  of  the  whole 
depth  of  gravel  above  it  will  operate  to  keep  it  in  place.  There  is 
some  danger  of  unequal  settlement  at  the  junction  of  these  walls, 
which  stand  on  slightly  compressible  gravel,  with  the  west  wall,  which 
by  its  piers  extends  to  the  incompressible  rock ;  so  we  will  enlarge  the 
footings  of  these  walls  near  the  junction,  thereby  spreading  the 
weight  over  a  large  surface,  and  reducing  the  land  on  each  square 
foot  of  gravel  so  far  that  it  will  be  borne  without  any  yielding.  An 
additional  six  inches  on  each  side,  obtained  by  adding  one  course  of 
footings,  will  suffice,  if  the  stones  are  reasonably  flat,  and  making  a 
memorandum  of  this  we  proceed  to  consider  the  foundation  of  the 
tower. 

Here  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  support,  the  rock  being  every- 
where above  or  near  the  level  of  the  footings.  The  point  requir- 
ing most  attention  is  the  spring  of  water  flowing  from  the  seam  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  33 

loose  rock.     There  is  only  one  thing  to  be  thought  of;  that  is,  to 
collect  this  water  in  a  covered  receptacle  which  cannot  overflow,  and 
convey  it  by  a  tight  conduit  to  a  safe  outfall  beyond 
the  walls  of  the  building.    This  will  be  somewhat  costly,       . 
and  the  builder,  and  perhaps  the  church  committee, 
desirous  of  avoiding  needless  expense,  will  quote  the  example  of  other 
structures  in  the  neighborhood  which  have  uncovered  springs  in  the 
cellar,  and  where  they  are  allowed  to  flow  away  by  an  open  channel, 
but  the  architect  or  superintendent  should  not  allow  himself  to  be 
persuaded  by  these  arguments.     He  will  find,  if  he 
cares  to  inquire,  that  in  every  one  of  the  buildings 
mentioned,  the  cellar  walls  and  ceilings  are  dripping  with  moisture, 
the  first  story  beams  are  blackening  with  incipient  decay,  the  struc- 
tures themselves  are  chilly  and  difficult  to  warm  in  winter,  and  a  pen- 
etrating smell  hangs  about  them  in  summer,  especially  after  rains. 

These  are  the  houses  where  the  young  people  die  of  consumption, 
one  after  the  other ;  or  the  churches  that  one  enters  with  a  sudden  de- 
pression of  spirits,  and  leaves  with  a  headache  or  a  cold.  Let  the 
architect  claim  the  authority  due  to  superior  knowledge,  and  refuse 
to  sanction  anything  short  of  absolute  security  against  water  within 
the  cellar  walls. 

Fortunately,  there  is  but  one  spring,  although  that  is  a  copious  one, 
flowing  some  fifty  gallons  per  hour.  We  will  therefore  excavate,  by 
pick  and  by  blasting,  a  rough  well  on  the  line  of  the  seam,  just  out- 
side the  cellar  wall,  and  carried  to  a  depth  of  at  least  2^  feet  below 
the  cellar  floor.  If  there  had  been  several  water-bearing  seams,  we 
should  have  been  compelled,  instead  of  excavating  the  well  outside 
the  wall,  to  make  it  beneath  the  wall  itself,  by  cutting  the  trenches 
two  feet  or  more  below  the  cellar  floor,  and  putting  in  the  first  founda- 
tion stones  dry,  without  mortar,  so  that  the  water  could  collect  in  the 
vacant  spaces.  This  would  keep  the  moisture  from  invading  the 
cellar,  but  the  wall  might  be  damp  from  the  water  standing  beneath 
it,  so  that  a  well  entirely  outside  of  the  wall  is  preferable.  We  will, 
however,  to  provide  for  the  possibility  of  water  coming  in  wet  weather 
through  seams  now  dry,  deepen  the  trenches  about  a  foot,  and  lay 
the  first  course  of  stones  dry,  bringing  this  trench  into  communica- 
tion with  the  well,  so  that  water  entering  under  any  part  of  the  wall 
will  find  its  way  to  the  well.  A  channel  is  then  to  be  made,  and  a 


34  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

tight  pipe  laid  with  cemented  joints  below  the  cellar  floor  from  the 
well,  across  the  tower  and  under  the  opposite  wall  to  the  outside  of 
the  building,  until  the  gravel  is  reached,  where  the  pipe  may  end  in 
a  pit  filled  with  loose  stones. 

Having  plainly  indicated  the  arches,  piers,  drains  and  well,  the 
vjuestion  is  to  be  settled,  —  Who  shall  pay  for  all  this  extra  work  ? 

The  principle  to  be  kept  in  view  in  the  decision  is  that,  unless 
some  special  agreement  has  been  made,  the  builder  cannot  be  obliged 
to  pay  the  cost  of  extra  foundation,  concrete,  or  other  works  ren- 
dered necessary  by  peculiarities  of  the  ground  which  could  not 
have  been  reasonably  expected  or  foreseen  when  the  contract  was 
signed :  he  is,  however,  assumed  to  have  examined  the  ground  where 
the  proposed  building  was  to  stand,  and  to  have  included  in  his  con- 
tract price  the  risk  of  common  defects,  such  as  clay  beds  in  gravel, 
rock  in  a  spot  where  the  ledge  appears  on  the  surface  near  by,  or  of 
springs  in  any  soil. 

Of  course  the  best  way  would  have  been  to  bore  at  different  points 
around  the  building,  to  find  out  the  depth  and  nature  of  the  soil,  and 
by  the  light  of  these  tests  to  draw  the  foundation  plans  and  specify 
the  various  works,  but  this  is  rarely  done  in  ordinary  buildings,  and 
the  object  of  this  treatise  is  as  much  to  come  to  the  rescue  in  the  com- 
mon cases  of  forgetfulness,  omission,  or  unforeseen  difficulty,  as  to 
point  out  the  course  which  would  be  absolutely  the  best  for  all 
buildings. 

In  the  present  case,  it  is  decided  that,  the  clay  seam  being  a  com- 
mon occurrence  in  gravelly  soils,  the  contractor  shall  bear  the  expense 
of  the  trench  and  drain  for  cutting  off  the  water  which  would  flow 
over  its  surface  toward  the  building ;  and  shall  also 
y  for  the  drain  to  cari7  °ff  the  spring-water  from 
under  the  tower ;  but  that  the  cost  of  carrying  down 
the  foundations  of  the  west  wall  beyond  the  point  shown  on  the 
drawings,  the  extra  width  of  footings  under  the  north  wall,  and  the 
necessary  blasting  under  the  tower,  shall  fall  on  the  church,  for  the 
reason  that  the  ledge  did  not  appear  above  ground  anywhere  near 
the  site  of  the  building,  and  therefore  its  existence  so  near  the  sur- 
face as  to  interfere  with  the  foundations  would  not  reasonably  be 
inferred  with  sufficient  certainty  to  form  an  element  in  the  contract 
price ;  the  same  rule  applying  also  to  the  clay  bed  resting  on  the  rock. 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  &5 

The  new  work  should  be  clearly  described  in  a  supplementary 
specification,  giving  the  proportion  of  cement,  sand,  and  pebbles  in 
the  concrete,  mentioning  the  large  flat  stones  which  should  form  the 
upper  part  of  the  piers,  and  from  which  the  arches  will  spring ;  re- 
quiring that  the  arches  shall  be  built  on  centres,  of  good,  hard  brick, 
in  mortar  made  with  one  part  sand  to  one  of  cement,  in  four  row- 
locks for  the  small  arches,  and  five  in  the  large  one  ;  with  any  other 
particulars  which  may  make  the  meaning  more  clear.  The  drawings 
should  be  rectified  by  notes  and  diagrams  in  the  margin,  a  record  of 
all  the  facts,  with  copies  of  all  instructions  and  orders,  kept  by  the 
superintendent,  and  a  price  agreed  upon,  setting  off  against  the  cost 
of  blasting  under  the  tower  the  amount  of  earth  excavation  saved, 
and  the  value  of  the  rough  stone  obtained.  An  additional  agree- 
ment, embodying  the  supplementary  specification  and  the  extra  price 
agreed  upon,  is  drawn  up,  signed  by  both  parties,  and  attached  to 
the  original  contract,  and  the  work  is  ready  to  proceed. 

All  this  sounds  long,  but  it  is  time  well  spent,  for  a  few  hours  more 
in  arranging  the  preliminaries  will  save  days  as  well  as  dollars  to 
both  parties  in  the  final  settlement.  A  glance  at  the  rough  stone 
delivered,  with  an  admonition  to  the  builder  to  get  the  footing-stones 
as  flat  as  possible,  and  the  summary  sending  off  the  ground  of  a  lot 
of  staging  lumber  which  has  just  arrived,  containing  a  number  of 
knotty  and  shaky  poles,  calling  the  builder's  attention  at  the  same 
time  to  their  rejection,  may  terminate  our  duties  for  the  day. 

THE    THIRD   AND    FOURTH   VISITS. 

Very  soon  after  these  affairs  have  been  agreed  upon  it  will  be 
necessary  to  make  another  visit  to  the  building,  to  see  that  the 
execution  is  rightly  begun. 

We  find  the  excavation  finished,  the  blasting  done  under  the  tower, 
the  collecting  well  and  pipe  completed,  and  the  foundation-wall  under 
that  part  already  some  five  feet  high.  There  is  no  other  stone-work 
started,  and  thinking  it  a  little  strange  that  this,  the  most  difficult 
point  of  the  work,  should  have  been  begun  first,  we  examine  the  wall 
minutely.  The  inside  face  looks  all  right,  the  stones  being  perhaps  a 
little  small;  but  that  may  be  the  way  the  stone  runs.  Outside,  the 
gravel  has  been  filled  in  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  stone-work.  We 
borrow  a  crowbar  and  force  it  into  the  gravel  outside  the  wall  in 


36  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

several  places.  Except  a  softness  of  the  material,  which  shows  that 
it  has  not  been  properly  rammed,  or  "  puddled  "  by  wetting  it  thor- 
oughly, so  as  to  pack  it  closely  into  its  place,  we  observe  nothing  out 
of  the  way  until  we  approach  the  corner^  where  for  some  feet  the 
bar,  instead  of  sinking  its  full  length,  close  to  the  outside  of  the  wall, 
strikes  against  the  solid  rock  not  far  down.  We  call  the  foreman 
and  ask  him  if  the  foundation-wall  stands  entirely  clear  of  the  ledge. 
He  hesitates,  and  finally  replies  that  the  ledge,  after  being  cut  away 
through  part  of  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  showed  such  a  "  nice  flat 
top  "  that  it  seemed  a  pity  to  excavate  it  any  farther,  and  he  had 
therefore  built  up  a  thin  wall  against  it  as  high  as  the  top,  and  then 
built  out  over  the  rock  to  make  the  full  thickness  of  the  wall  as  shown 
on  the  plans.  He  adds,  with  great  apparent  confidence,  that  "  noth- 
ing can  be  better  for  part  of  the  wall  than  the  solid  rock." 

This  explanation  is  specious,  but  in  practice  is  dangerously  mis- 
leading. In  a  wall  so  built,  the  water  will  find  its  way  either  through 
the  imperceptible  seams  of 
the  ledge  or  over  its  top 
into  the  body  of  the  mason- 
ry, keeping  it  constantly  f~ 
damp.  Moreover,  there  is-L^ 
a  serious  risk  that  under 
the  heavy  weight  of  the  - 
tower,  the  thin  lining  wall 
built  up  against  the  ledge,  ^^-J^^^'^^^' 

but  in  no  way  bonded  to  $r     \     r^'     fr— "7      ^"^ 

it,  would  separate  from  it  Fig.  28. 

and  fall  away,  leaving  the  superincumbent  masonry  most  insecurely 
supported. 

There  is,  besides,  the  certainty  that  the  foundation-wall,  built  partly 
on  unyielding  rock,  and  partly  of  small  stones  laid  in  compressible 
mortar,  will  settle  unequally,  and  crack,  perhaps  dislocating  the 
masonry  above,  and  at  least  opening  an  inlet  for  moisture.  The 
work  must  therefore  be  immediately  taken  down  to  the  very  founda- 
tion, and  the  ledge  cut  away  so  as  to  leave  ample  space  for  the  whole 
thickness  of  the  cellar  wall  down  to  the  footings,  with  seven  or  eight 
inches  additional  room  outside  the  masonry  to  enable  it  to  be  properly 
pointed,  and  for  packing  in  behind  it  a  screen  of  gravel,  which  will 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  37 

intercept  and  carry  safely  down  to  the  drains  whatever  water  may 
ooze  through  the  veins  of  the  rock.  The  workmen  will  probably 
profess  never  to  have  heard  of  a  foundation  in  which  the  bank  was 
not  intentionally  cut  just  to  coincide  with  the  outside 
line  of  the  wall,  so  that  this  could  be  built  up  directly  ofFo'undaticm- 
against  it,  thereby  saving  them  all  the  trouble  of  Walls. 
selecting  stones  for  this  side,  so  as  to  have  it  smooth ;  plumbing  it,  to 
get  it  vertical ;  and  pointing  it,  so  as  to  have  it  impervious.  It  is 
true  that  this  is  the  common  method  of  cheap  builders,  but  it  is  not, 
and  should  not  be,  countenanced  in  work  of  any  importance,  even 
in  dwelling-houses,  except  of  the  lightest  and  cheapest  kind. 

A  wall  built  in  this  way  (Fig.  29)  is  neither  safe  nor  satisfac- 
tory. The  joints  at  the  back,  being  concealed,  are  usually  devoid  of 
mortar,  or  if  any  is  put  in,  it  falls  out  again, 
so  that  a  gradual  compression  of  the  outer 
portion  is  liable  to  take  place,  as  the  weight 
of  the  superstructure  increases,  bulging  the 
inner  face  of  the  wall  toward  the  cellar,  and 
the  unfilled  cavities  next  the  bank  collect  the 
water  which  trickles  down  by  them,  and  con- 
duct it  into  the  heart  of  the  masonry,  while 
the  projecting  points  of  the  larger  stones 
imbed  themselves  in  the  earth,  so  that  when 
this  freezes  and  expands,  the  wall  is  often 
lifted  as  if  by  a  number  of  short  levers,  dis- 
locating the  joints  and  making  channels  for 
moisture  through  them.  It  is  actually  much  more  important  to 
have  the  outside  of  a  cellar  wall  smooth  than  the  inside.  If  the 
stones  are  selected  so  as  to  show  a  good  face  on  the  outer  surface, 
the  joints  well  filled  with  cement  mortar,  and  pointed  with  due 
care  as  the  work  proceeds,  holding  the  trowel  used  for  pointing 
obliquely,  so  as  to  "weather"  the  joint,  as  the  workmen  say 
(Fig.  30),  any  moisture  which  runs  out  from  the  bank,  or  descends 
from  above,  and  flows  down  over  the  outer  face  of  the  wall,  will,  when 
it  meets  a  joint,  drip  off,  falling  on  the  inclined  surface  of  cement, 
by  which  it  will  be  conducted  safely  over  the  edge  of  the  next  stone 
to  run  down  and  drip  off  again,  until  it  reaches  the  bottom,  where  it 
passes  off  in  the  drain,  without  having  been  able  anywhere  to  pene- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


trate  into  the  masonry.  This  essential  point  in  construction  is  one 
of  the  hardest  to  enforce.  It  is  so  habitual  with  ordinary  workmen  to 
neglect  the  portions  which  will  be  concealed,  and  expend  their  skill 

on  the  \isible  inner  surface,  that 
some  explanations  given  to  indi- 
vidual men  will  be  necessary,  es- 
pecially of  the  proper  method  of 
pointing,  besides  a  good  deal  of 
watching,  to  see  that  the  directions 
are  followed. 

Having  given  the  requisite  orders 
for  taking  down  the  objectionable 
masonry,  excavating  the  ledge 
properly,  and  rebuilding  in  the 
manner  described,  we  will  pursue 
our  tour  around  the  building.  Close 
by  we  come  to  the  pits  prepared  for 
Fig.  so.  the  concrete  piers  which  are  to  ex- 

tend the  foundation  of  the  west  wall  down  to  the  rock.  The  sides  of 
the  deepest  holes  are  sustained  by  a  shoring  of  planks  and  beams, 
and  the  contractor  is  awaiting  orders  to  put  in  the  concrete.  We 
examine  the  pits  to  make  sure  that  the  ledge  is  exposed  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  clear  of  clay,  which  would  prevent  the  concrete  from 
attaching  itself  to  the  rock.  The  deepest  excavation,  we  find,  has 
struck  a  spring,  which  runs  copiously  over  the  surface  of  the  ledge 
at  the  bottom,  and  the  contractor  says,  with  reason,  that  the  cement 
will  be  washed  out  of  his  concrete  as  fast  as  he  puts  it  in.  There  is 
a  remedy  for  that ;  but  before  beginning  the  concreting  we  must  test 
the  quality  of  the  materials.  Meanwhile,  we  send  a  boy  to  fetch  a 
dozen  yards  of  oiled  cotton  cloth. 

In  accordance  with  our  previous  directions,  the  contractor  has 
screened  the  gravel  which  he  proposes  to  use,  and 
the  finer  part  is  heaped  up  on  one  side  of  a  large 
plank  mortar-bed,  while  the  coarser  pebbles  are  piled 
on  the  other.  The  fine  gravel,  or  rather  sand,  when  rubbed  in  the 
hand  gives  a  dry,  crackling  sound,  and  is  prickly  to  the  skin.  We 
wet  some  of  it,  and  grasp  a  quantity.  On  opening  the  hand  it  will 
not  retain  its  shape,  but  falls  down  loosely,  and  does  not  soil  the 


Concrete 
Making. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  39 

skin.     It  is  therefore  sharp  and  clean,  suitable  to  be  used  for  mortar 
or  concrete  without  washing.     If  it  should  happen  that  the  sand  is 
very  fine,  it  may  still  be  used,  if  sharp  and  clean,  but 
the  proportion  of  fine  sand  by  measure  to  a  given 
quantity  of  cement  should  be  less  than  that  of  coarse,  and  the  coarser 
kinds  are  much  to  be  preferred.     The  rounded  pebbles  screened  out 
of  the  gravel  are  free  from  earth  or  clay,  but  some  dust  clings  to 
them,  which  would  prevent  the  perfect  adherence  of  the  cement  to 
their  surface,  and  we  direct  them  to  be  thoroughly  washed  by  throw- 
ing buckets  of  water  over  them. 

Some  officious  individual  has  added  to  the  heap  a  quantity  of  the 
angular  fragments  of  disintegrated  rock  from  the  tower  foundation, 
but  these,  although  excellent  in  shape,  we  find  to  be  somewhat  coated 
with  the  clay  which  has  been  washed  into  the  rock  seams,  and  there- 
fore unfit  for  concrete  unless  washed  clean.  This  would  be  a  long 
process,  since  any  admixture  of  clay  clings  very  persistently  to  sand 
or  stone,  and  is  very  injurious  unless  entirely  removed,  so,  as  we 
have  an  ample  supply  of  cleaner  material  at  hand,  we  order  all  the 
clayey  fragments  to  be  taken  away. 

The  cement  is  next  to  be  passed  upon.  Of  this  we  find  ready  for 
us  a  large  number  of  barrels,  bearing  a  great  variety  of  brands,  and 
gathered  from  the  stocks  of  all  the  local  dealers  within  reach.  Among 
them  are  casks  from  the  Newark  Lime  and  Cement  Company,  F.  O. 
Norton  &  Co.,  Connolly  &  Shafer,  the  James  Cement  Company,  be- 
sides a  few  barrels  with  other  marks.  The  mason  is  in  a  hurry  to 
begin,  so  we  tell  him  to  use  at  once  any  of  the  F.  O.  Norton  or  the 
Newark  cement  that  has  not  been  damaged.  The  first  cask  of  these 
which  is  opened  contains  a  crust  of  hardened  cement  three  or  four 
inches  thick,  but  the  enclosed  portion  remains  in  its  normal  state  of 
fine  powder.  We  order  the  crust  to  be  rejected,  but  allow  the  inner 
portion  to  be  used.  The  other  barrels  seem  uninjured.  Meanwhile, 
casting  an  eye  now  and  then  on  the  mortar  mixers  to  see  that  they 
put  conscientiously  one  shovelful  of  cement  to  two  of  sand,  and 
thoroughly  mix  the  dry  sand  and  cement  before  adding  water,  we 
proceed  to  test  roughly  all  the  brands  of  cement  before  us  with  which 
we  are  not  familiar. 

Masons  have  various  ways  by  which  they  profess  to  form  an 
opinion  of  the  goodness  of  cement.  Some  dip  their  hands  or  arms 


40  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

into  the  barrel,  and  if  the  powder  feels  warm  they  pronounce  it 
good ;  others  taste  it,  and  if  it  bites  the  tongue  they  call  it  suitable 
Te«*t!ng  ^or  use'  ^ie  strength  of  the  cement  being  supposed  to 
Cement.  be  proportional  to  the  intensity  of  the  bite  ;  and  there 
is  another  common  belief  that  the  dark  colored  Rosendale  cement  is 
stronger  than  the  light.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  all  these  tests  arc 
simply  worthless ;  in  fact,  they  are  principally  employed  to  impose 
upon  modest  young  architects,  who  can  sometimes  be  deceived  by 
such  mysterious  performances,  the  result  of  which  is  sure  to  be  in 
accordance  with  the  interests  of  the  party  applying  the  tests. 

Let  us  cast  aside  these  divinations,  and  taking  a  handful  of  cement 
from  an  average  barrel  of  each  of  the  brands,  mix  it  with  water  into 
a  cake,  put  it  in  the  sun,  or  in  any  dry  place,  for  half  an  hour  or 
more,  till  it  acquires  such  a  consistency  as  to  be  barely  indented  by 
the  pressure  of  the  end  of  a  match  or  a  stick  of  equal  size,  cut 
square,  and  weighted  by  resting  a  brick  upon  it.  Place  the  cakes  in 
some  regular  order,  so  that  the  different  varieties  of  cement  of  which 
they  are  made  can  be  distinguished,  and  as  fast  as  they  reach  the 
requisite  hardness,  put  them  into  a  tub  of  water,  till  all  are  immersed. 
Note  the  time  required  for  each  one  to  reach  its  first  "  set "  in  the 
air.  Finally,  make  a  second  series  of  cakes,  and  leave  them  exposed 
to  the  air,  without  immersion. 

By  this  time  a  batch  of  concrete  is  mixed ;  the  sand  and  cement 
have  been  thoroughly  mingled  until  no  lumps  of  cement  or  sandy 
streaks  can  be  discovered  in  the  heap,  water  is  then  added,  not  in  too 
great  quantity,  but  enough  to  give  a  pudding-like  consistency  to  the 
mass,  and  the  whole  is  well  stirred  and  shovelled  over  again ;  then  the 
stones,  which  have  been  well  wet  before  putting  them  into  the  mor- 
tar, are  added,  and  all  mixed  quickly,  but  thoroughly.  If  well  mixed, 
the  bulk  of  pebbles  may  be  double  that  of  the  mortar.  The  object 
of  wetting  the  stones  before  adding  them  is  to  wash  off  the  light  dust 
which  very  rapidly  settles  on  them,  and  prevents  the  adherence  of 
the  cement.  The  moisture  of  the  mortar  would  wash  the  stones  clean 
by  long  stirring,  but  time  is  of  importance,  and  it  is  best  and  easiest 
to  dash  on  a  few  buckets  of  water  at  first. 

We  begin  with  the  deepest  pier  of  concrete,  —  the  one  which  has 
to  be  laid  in  a  stream  of  running  water.  Taking  the  oiled  cotton, 
which  has  by  this  time  been  brought,  we  fashion  it  into  a  large, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  41 

rude  bag,  nearly  water-tight,  which  is  taken   down  into  the  hole 
and  filled  with  concrete.     The  water  rises  around  the  edge,  but  not 

enough  to  overflow  the  mass,  and  after  packing  the  con- 

,        ,  ,  Laying  Con- 

crete solidly  down  into  its  place  by  means  of  a  wooden  crete  in  Water. 

rammer,  we  leave  this,  and  proceed  to  put  a  layer 
into  each  of  the  other  excavations,  throwing  it  in  from  the  top,  so  as 
to  compact  the  mass  by  the  momentum  of  the  fall,  as  it  is  not  easy  to 
reach  it  with  wooden  rammers.  After  dividing  the  material  already 
mixed  among  all  the  piers,  the  concreting  should  be  stopped  for  the 
day,  and  the  men  put  on  other  work,  as  we  are  more  likely  to  obtain 
a  compact  mass  by  putting  it  in  the  pits  in  twelve-inch  layers  on  suc- 
cessive days  than  by  filling  in  the  whole  body  at  once.  The  holes 
should  be  covered  with  boards  to  prevent  rain  from  washing  in  sand 
on  top  of  the  layers  already  deposited. 

The  next  day,  after  our  regular  preliminary  tour,  first  outside  and 
then  inside  the  building,  we  examine  the  samples  of  cement  which 
we  made  up  the  day  before  and  laid  aside.  The  specimen  of  the 
Newark  Lime  and  Cement  Company's  cement  left  twenty-four  hours 
in  the  air  is  found  to  be  quite  hard,  and  breaking  the  cake  with  a 
slight  pulling  strain,  much  as  if  it  were  a  stick  of  candy,  we  find 
it  to  possess  a  very  sensible  tensile  strength,  and  the  two  halves  sep- 
arate with  a  clean  fracture  instead  of  crumbling.  The  cake  of  the 
same  brand  left  in  water  retains  its  shape,  and  has  increased  con- 
siderably in  firmness.  The  cement  may  therefore  be  pronounced 
good,  as  is  usual  with  that  brand. 

The  F.  O.  Norton  samples,  both  in  water  and  in  air,  show  similar 
qualities  in  at  least  an  equal  degree ;  and  all  the  barrels  of  this 
brand  which  on  being  opened  show  no  signs  of  caking  are  accepted. 

The  sample  in  air  from  the  barrels  marked  "James  Cement  Co." 
is  quite  hard,  harder  than  either  of  the  two  preceding,  and  a 
slight  bluish  efflorescence,  like  mould,  has  already  begun  to  appear 
on  its  surface,  but  the  specimen  left  under  water  has  crumbled  into  a 
soft  heap. 

Of  the  Connolly  &  Shafer  manufacture,  the  portion  left  in  the  air 
retains  its  shape,  but  has  not  acquired  much  consistency  :  it  crushes 
in  the  fingers  like  clay.  The  sample  in  water  is  nothing  but  mud. 

It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  because  this  last  variety  sets  slowly, 
that  it  is  essentially  bad,  but  it  will  be  unsafe  to  use  in  our  concrete, 


42  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

and  inconvenient  in  the  masonry,  so  that  unless  a  second  sample 
should  show  much  better  qualities,  we  will  discard  all  the  barrels  of 
that  brand. 

The  James  cement,  which '  sets  quickly  and  hard  in  air,  but  under 
water  breaks  up  and  crumbles,  should  be  rejected  for  the  concrete, 
but  may  be  used  for  the  masonry  If  the  rapidity  of  its  setting 
should  interfere  with  its  convenient  use,  as  will  very  likely  be  the 
case,  especially  in  hot  weather,  it  should  be  mixed  with  a  small  por- 
tion of  lime. 

If  none  but  James  cement  should  be  obtainable,  or  other  brands 
having  similar  characteristics,  let  the  superintendent  try  whether  a 
sample  of  it  mixed  with  half  its  bulk  of  slaked  lime  and  made 
into  a  ball  will  set  hard  under  water ;  if  so,  it  may  be  safely  used  in 
that  way,  even  for  concrete. 

Some  of  the  quickest-setting  Rosendale  cements,  when  immersed  in 
water  without  having  previously  acquired  a  certain  degree  of  hardness 
in  the  air,  will  set  rapidly,  and  immediately  crumble  again,  and  never 
acquire  any  subsequent  consistency.  With  such  it  is  often  found  that 
the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  lime  will  confer  upon  it  the  quali- 
ties of  the  better  cements,  causing  it  to  set  perfectly  under  water,  and 
improving  it  for  use  in  air  by  retarding  the  setting  slightly.  With 
the  very  slow-setting  cements  little  can  be  done  unless  there  is  time 
to  wait  for  them.  They  may  do  for  adding  to  lime  mortar  in  stone- 
work above  ground,  where  it  is  desirable  to  harden  the  mortar,  but 
for  foundations,  on  which  the  weight  is  to  be  rapidly  added,  or  in 
work  under  water,  it  is  best  to  avoid  the  use  of  any  cement  whose 
setting  is  found  to  be  uncertain  or  long  delayed. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  these  tests  are  by  no  means  such  as 
would  be  used  for  engineering  work  of  importance,  but  they  will  do 
well  enough  for  rough  determinations,  and  an  ample  margin  of 
strength  is,  or  should  be,  always  left  in  the  smaller  operations  of  con- 
struction. More  accurate  methods  of  judging  will  be  described  in 
treating  of  city  buildings. 

In  the  course  of  our  preliminar}'  tour  around  the  works  we  noticed 
with  surprise  that  one  of  the  concrete  piers  was  already  finished,  and 
the  top  nicely  smoothed  over,  and  having  completed  the  tests  of  the 
cement,  we  return  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  taking  the  foreman 
with  us.  We  examine  the  ground  closely,  and  notice  some  stray 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  43 

pebbles  dropped  around  the  edge  of  the  hole,  and  some  such  dialogue 
takes  place  as  the  following :  — 

Superintendent :  —  "  Mr.  Foreman,  how  did  you  get  this  pier  done 
so  soon  ?  " 

Foreman :  —  "  Well,  sir,  we  hurried  a  little  on  this  pier,  because 
we  wanted  it  to  git  set  before  it  rained,  and  "  — 

Superintendent:  —  I  left  word  to  put  in  only  twelve  inches  of  con- 
crete at  a  time  in  each  pier." 

Foreman :  —  "  O  law,  sir,  that  aint  no  way  to  build  a  pier.  There 
aint  no  one  can  tell  me  nothin'  about  concrete.  That's  as  nice  a  job 
of  concrete  as  ever  "  — 

Superintendent  (remembering  the  scattered  pebbles)  :  —  "  You 
didn't  put  the  stones  in  dry  and  then  grout  them,  did  you  ?  " 

Foreman  (slightly  taken  aback)  :  —  "  Well,  sir,  perhaps,  —  yes, 
we  did :  you  see,  that  is  the  best  way  to  do  where  you  have  such 
coarse  sand,  and  then  "  — 

Superintendent:  —  "  Get  some  one  here  and  take  that  all  out.  It 
is  impossible  to  tell  now  how  much  cement  there  is  in  it,  but  it  has 
not  begun  to  set,  so  if  you  will  take  it  back  to  the  pen  and  add  a 
shovelful  of  cement  to  every  two  shovelfuls  of  this,  and  mix  it  well,  I 
will  let  it  pass  to  put  into  all  the  piers  twelve  inches  thick." 

Foreman  (deferentially)  :  —  "  Yes,  sir,  anything  you  say,  sir." 

Pursuing  our  way  after  this  little  episode  we  come  to  a  squad  of 
men  laying  footing-stones  for  the  clerestory  wall  on  the  gravelly  bot- 
tom. These  must  be  carefully  looked  after,  for  the 
weight  of  the  clerestory  wall  being  concentrated  on 
the  piers  of  the  arcade  will  try  the  strength  of  the 
foundation  very  seriously.  The  drawings  show  a  continuous  foun- 
dation-wall, but  no  inverted  arches,  it  being  impossible  to  get  the 
necessary  abutment  for  these  without  considerable  additional  ex- 
pense, and  it  is  therefore  necessary  that  the  masonry  of  the  founda- 
tion should  be  well  bonded  together  longitudinally,  so  as  to  receive 
the  pressure  as  a  solid  mass ;  otherwise  the  settlement  will  be  greater 
under  the  piers,  and  the  work  will  be  dangerously  dislocated. 

Most  of  the  footing-stones  on  the  ground  are  good  flat  pieces,  but 
here  and  there  are  some  misshapen  lumps,  and  one  of  these,  just  as 
we  come  up,  is  suspended  to  the  derrick  boom,  ready  to  lower  into 
its  place.  The  men  have  tried  faithfully  to  hollow  out  a  basin  in 


44  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  gravelly  bottom  of  the  trench  to  fit  the  irregularities  of  the  stone, 
but  when  this  is  lowered  into  its  place,  it  rocks  unsteadily.  It  is 
raised  again,  and  the  bed  remodelled.  This  time  the  stone  fits  better, 
but  is  still  unsteady.  The  men  are  discussing  whether  to  let  it  go 
as  it  is,  or  try  again,  when  the  superintendent  comes  up,  and  step- 
ping upon  the  stone  rocks  it  until  he  is  satisfied  that  there  are  no 
large  cavities  beneath.  Sending  for  buckets  of  water,  he  directs 
fine  gravel  to  be  heaped  around  the  stone,  picking  out 
Puddli£g^withall  pebbieg  and  iumpS)  an(i  tne  water  to  be  then  thrown 

on,  pailful  after  pailful,  or,  still  better,  a  stream  from 
a  hose  to  be  directed  upon  the  mass.  The  water  settles  away  through 
the  sand,  searching  out  all  cavities  into  which  it  can  flow,  and  car- 
rying particles  with  it  wherever  it  goes,  which  gradually  compact 
themselves  in  the  hollows  under  the  stone  until  it  can  no  longer  be 
moved.  This  puddling  process  is  continued  a  little  longer,  to  make 
sure  that  a  full  and  perfect  bed  is  formed  under  the  stone,  and  di- 
rections are  given  to  do  the  same  with  all  the  levellers  which  have 
uneven  beds. 

Where  the  bottom  of  the  trench  is  clay  or  rock,  a  thick  layer  of 
cement  mortar  should  be  spread  to  bed  the  footing-stones  in,  for  the 
purpose  of  filling  up  all  cavities  between  the  substratum  and  the 
stone,  but  in  gravelly  soil  the  puddling  with  water  is  often  much  bet- 
ter than  the  bed  of  cement,  especially  with  stones  of  very  irregular 
shape.  This  expedient  for  filling  in  cavities  under  and  around  ma- 
sonry is  capable  of  still  more  extended  use.  The  writer  once  knew 
a  case  where  a  church  tower  had  been  nearly  completed  upon  a 
foundation  badly  built  and  with  joints  only  half-filled  with  mortar. 
The  tower  began  to  settle,  and  the  contractor  for  the  superstructure, 
a  man  distinguished  for  his  boldness  and  ingenuity  in  emergencies, 
sent  for  the  town  fire-engine  and  a  quantity  of  fine  sand,  and  putting 
the  sand  into  the  tower  cellar,  kept  the  engine  playing  upon  it  for 
half  a  day.  The  floods  of  water  found  their  way  out  through  every 
crevice,  and  wherever  the  water  went  the  sand  followed,  until  all  the 
cavities  were  packed  full.  It  was  heroic  treatment,  certainly,  but 
effectual ;  the  settlement  ceased,  and  the  tower  stands  perfect  to  this 
day. 

Let  us  look  at  the  stone  delivered  on  the  ground  for  foundation- 
walls.  It  is  of  various  kinds,  some  pieces  being  slaty,  some  tough, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  4,r 

with  rounded  surfaces,  like  fragments  of  boulders,  as  they  probably 
are.  Many  blocks  of  the  greenstone  from  the  tower  excavation 
are  to  be  seen,  and  these  should  be  examined  with  sus- 
picion, for  fear  of  almost  invisible  cracks,  which  will  let 
the  water  soak  slowly  through,  besides  unfitting  the 
stone  to  resist  a  strain.  To  test  them,  they  should  be  struck  with  a 
hammer.  If  they  ring  clearly,  they  are  good ;  a  seam,  even  if  invis- 
ible, will  betray  itself  by  the  dull  sound  which  follows  the  blow.  The 
boulder  stones  are  usually  good,  if  not  too  much  rounded.  One  side,  at 
least,  should  be  quite  flat,  to  form  the  bed.  Slate  stones  vary  in  dif- 
ferent localities.  In  some  places  they  are  of  immense  strength  if 
placed  flat  in  the  wall,  and  form  admirable  material ;  in  others,  espe- 
cially in  eastern  Massachusetts,  the  tendency  to  cleavage  in  the  second- 
ary planes,  across  the  lamina?,  is  so  decided  that  the  stones,  although  ap- 
parently sound  and  strong,  will  break  across  after  being  placed  in  the 
wall,  as  soon  as  the  weight  of  the  superstructure  comes  upon  them.  This 
is  a  most  annoying  defect,  as  the  stones  cannot  then  be  taken  out,  and 
the  parts  often  separate  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more,  making  a  seam 
which  it  is  difficult  to  close  by  pointing.  The  only  way,  when  a  ten- 
dency is  noticed  in  the  stone  to  break  up  into  fragments  of  regular 
crystalline  form,  is  to  avoid  using  it  in  long  flat  pieces,  for  lintels, 
bond-stones  or  templates,  or  in  any  other  position  where  it  will  be 
subjected  to  a  cross  strain.  The  softer  lime  and  sand  stones,  when 
used  for  foundations,  are  much  less  liable  to  such  defects,  but  being 
somewhat  absorbent,  special  pains  must  be  taken  to  isolate  them  from 
the  banks  of  the  excavation  by  a  backing  of  sand  or  gravel,  and  to 
provide  for  thoroughly  intercepting  and  draining  off  the  moisture 
which  might  come  in  contact  with  them. 

An  inspection  should  now  be  made  of  the  lime,  and  opportunity 
should  be  taken  to  inquire  into  and  criticise  the  methods  that  the 
foreman  proposes  to  employ  in  mixing  the  mortar  for 
the  upper  portion  of  the  masonry.    The  barrels  have, 
we  find,  been  piled  on  a  slightly  elevated  spot,  the  ground  descend- 
ing in  all  directions,  so  that  water  may  not  during  heavy  rains  run 
down  against  them.     Boards  have  been  placed  underneath,  to  keep 
them  from  the  dampness  of  the  ground,  and  a  covering  of  boards 
has  been  laid  on  top,  to  shelter  them  from  storms.     This  would  not 
be  sufficient  protection  in  ordinary  cases,  but  the  contractor  tells  us 


46  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

that  he  intends  to  build  up  the  foundations  of  the  chancel  at  once, 
and  lay  the  floor  over  them,  which  will  give  him  a  dry  place  for  stor- 
ing materials,  and  we  acquiesce  in  this  arrangement.  Two  or  three 
of  the  casks  in  the  pile  have  burst  open,*1and  looking  in  we  see  some 
of  the  lumps  in  them  crumbled  down  into  soft  powder,  while  others 
are  hard,  but  remain  inert  when  dipped  in  water.  These  are  dam- 
aged casks,  and  must  be  rejected  as  worthless,  however  good  the 
original  quality  of  the  lime  may  have  been.  A  large  part  of  the  bar- 
rels are  marked  "  ground  lime,"  and  contain  a  dingy-colored  lime  in 
powder.  This,  if  not  damaged,  will  make  good  mortar,  although  it 
slakes  quietly,  and  if  not  pulverized  will  not  slake  at  all.  The  mor~ 
tar  of  common  ground  lime  is  slightly  hydraulic,  and  will  harden 
under  water.  In  general,  the  hydraulic  limes,  which  will  harden 
under  water,  or  in  damp  situations,  without  admixture  of  cement, 
slake  quietly,  and  need  to  be  ground  after  burning,  while  the  fat 
limes,  such  as  are  used  for  plastering,  slake  energetically,  and  are 
better  kept  in  lumps,  so  that  they  may  not  be  slaked  by  the  moisture 
of  the  air,  while  the  mortar  made  from  them  hardens  slowly  in  the 
air,  and  under  water,  or  in  damp  soils,  never,  unless  cement  is  added 
to  the  mixture,  which  is  usually  done  where  they  are  used  for  masonry. 

There  is  one  singular  exception  to  this  rule  among  the  American 
limes,  of  which  we  shall  perhaps  find  some  examples  in  our  miscella- 
neous heap  of  barrels.  Let  us  open  that  old  flour-barrel,  without 
mark  of  any  kind.  We  discover  it  to  be  filled  with  a  black  sub- 
stance, in  lumps  resembling  cinders.  This  black  lime  is  made  from 
a  beautiful  pink  marble,  and  slakes  fiercely  in  water,  making  a  dark- 
colored  mortar,  which  sets  like  a  strong  cement.  Two  or  three  other 
casks,  containing  white  lime,  are  destitute  of  brands,  and  their  con- 
tents should  be  tested  by  putting  a  few  lumps  from  each  into  water. 
The  lime  from  one  slakes  quickly,  but  only  superficially,  leaving  a 
hard  core.  It  is  therefore  underburnt,  and  must  be  rejected  and 
sent  off  the  ground.  The  lumps  of  core,  if  allowed  to  get  into  the 
mortar,  would  be  liable  to  swell  afterwards  and  crack  the  joints  or 
throw  off  the  pointing.  Another  barrel  contains  overburnt  lime, 
which  remains  inactive  for  a  long  time  in  the  water,  even  when  pow- 
dered, at  last  slaking  slowly.  This  must  also  be  discarded ;  it  is  less 
valuable  than  so  much  sand. 

The  other  barrels  are  stencilled  "  Rockland,"  "  Rockport,"  "  Ca- 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE.  47 

naan,"  "  Glens  Falls,"  "  Thomaston,"  or  other  well-known  brands,  and 
if  not  damaged  by  water  or  by  gradual  air-slaking,  are  probably  all 
good  enough  for  making  stone  mortar  with  an  admixture  of  cement. 

In  mixing  the  mortar  the  foreman  should  be  persuaded,  if  possible, 
to  put  on  all  the  water  for  a  batch  of  lime  at  once,  instead  of  by  succes- 
sive buckets,  with  intervals  of  stirring  between,  there- 
by  chilling  the  lime  as  fast  as  it  begins  to  heat.  Even 
filling  the  pen  with  a  hose  is  too  long  a  process  for  securing  the  best 
results ;  with  very  active  lime  the  most  successful  mode  is  to  pour  it 
in  a  mass  from  a  large  cask.  The  proper  quantity  of  water  is  one- 
and-a-half  barrel  to  each  barrel  of  average  lump  lime,  and  this 
should  be  measured  as  accurately  as  possible.  If  too  much  is  added, 
the  mortar  will  be  thin ;  if  too  little,  it  will  be  thick  and  become  dif- 
ficult to  work  as  the  slaking  proceeds,  so  that  the  mixer  will  add 
more  water  to  the  mass,  thereby  chilling  it  and  putting  a  stop  to  the 
slaking  process,  and  a  granular,  lumpy  mortar  will  be  the  result. 

Much  of  the  labor  of  stirring  would  be  saved,  and  the  quality  of 
the  mortar  improved,  by  covering  the  pen,  as  soon  as  the  lime  lumps 
have  been  evenly  spread  over  the  bottom  and  the  requisite  proportion 
of  water  added,  with  a  canvas  or  tarpaulin,  and  leaving  it  to  itself  for 
half  an  hour  or  so,  during  which  time  the  confined  steam  and  heat, 
aiding  the  action  of  the  water,  will  reduce  the  whole  to  a  smooth, 
uniform  paste. 

On  no  account  should  the  lime  be  slaked  on  the  bare  ground  or  in 
a  hollow  made  by  an  embankment  of  sand.  Such  practices,  though 
they  still  linger  in  country  districts,  have  long  been  obsolete  in  all 
places  where  good  workmanship  is  held  in  honor.  A  water-tight  pen 
of  planks,  about  four  feet  by  seven,  must  be  made,  with  plank  bottom, 
and  sides  about  ten  inches  high.  This  will  give  room  for  treating  one 
cask  of  lime  at  a  time. 

After  the  lime  is  slaked  and  all  the  lumps  reduced  to  smooth  paste, 
it  should  stand  as  long  as  possible  before  mixing  with  the  sand,  which 
may,  if  the  lime  is  good,  be  added  in  the  proportion  of  two  parts  of 
sand  to  one  of  the  lime  paste,  or  five  to  one  of  dry  lime. 

There  is  a  common  error  that  cement  will  take  more  sand  than 
lime.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  in  mixing  cement  it  is  generally 
allowable,  unless  great  strength  is  required,  to  add  sand  to  the  dry 
cement  powder  in  the  proportion  of  three  to  one,  or,  as  the  mixture 


48  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

is  usually  effected,  one  shovelful  of  cement  to  three  of  sand,  whereas 
for  lime  mortar  the  rule  of  two  parts  by  measure  of  sand  to  one  of 
lime  paste  cannot  be  exceeded  without  injury;  but  as  the  crude  lime 
swells  in  slaking  to  about  two  and  a  hal£*times  its  original  bulk,  a 
quantity  of  sand  equal  to  double  the  amount  of  hydrated  paste  would 
represent  five  times  the  bulk  of  the  original  lime  lumps.  If  the  cem- 
ent were  mixed  with  water  before  adding  the  sand,  which  would  be 
impossible,  on  account  of  its  rapid  setting,  the  result  would  be  the 
same,  since  the  cement  expands  very  slightly,  if  at  all,  in  slaking. 

Our  specifications  require  that  the  mortar  for  foundations  should 
be  made  with  "  one-half  cement."  Let  the  contractor  and  his  men 
understand  that  this  means  one  cask  of  cement  to  each  cask  of  lime ; 
not  one-half  a  barrel  of  cement  to  one  of  lime,  as  some  masons  pre- 
tend to  interpret  it. 

The  lime  mortar  alone  will  stand  for  weeks  unchanged,  but  the 
addition  of  cement  causes  it  to  set  in  a  few  hours ;  it  should  there- 
fore be  mixed  only  as  required  for  immediate  use.  Some  judgment 
and  observation  will  be  needed  to  make  sure  that  the  cement  is  added 
in  the  proper  proportion,  unless  it  is  mixed  with  the  sand  previous  to 
adding  this  to  the  lime,  which  is  not  practicable  unless  it  can  be  used 
immediately,  since  the  cement  would  slake  by  absorption  of  moisture 
from  the  air  on  standing.  The  mixture  should  be  thoroughly  made, 
which  will  be  shown  by  the  uniform  color  of  the  mortar  and  the  ab- 
sence of  streaks  or  spots. 

Specifications  are  sometimes  so  loosely  drawn  as  to  omit  all  men- 
tion of  the  mortar.  In  such  cases  the  character  of  the  mixture  and 
the  proportion  of  materials  will  depend  greatly  upon  local  custom, 
but  the  practice  of  mixing  the  lime  for  mortar  of  foundation-walls 
with  at  least  one-half  its  bulk  of  hydraulic  cement  is  .so  universal  and 
so  necessary,  where  ground  lime  or  some  other  variety  having  hy- 
draulic properties  cannot  be  procured,  that  it  should  be  required  in 
all  cases  where  mortar  is  used  below  the  ground  surface.  In  wet  or 
springy  soils,  or  for  heavy  buildings,  the  dose  of  cement  should  be 
equal  to  that  of  lime. 

As  for  the  quality  of  materials,  neither  law  nor  custom  presume 
any  but  the  best  to  be  intended  where  nothing  is  said  to  the  contrary 
in  the  specifications.  Under  no  pretext  can  damaged  or  inferior  lime 
or  cement,  or  loamy  sand,  be  imposed  by  a  builder  upon  his  employer- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  49 

THE    FIFTH    VISIT. 

BEFORE  his  next  visit,  let  the  superintendent  provide  himself  with 
a  lioiit  steel  rod  :  steel  wire  three-sixteenths  or  one-fourth  of  an  inch 

O 

in  diameter  can  be  obtained  at  the  hardware  stores  in  pieces  about 
five  feet  long,  which  answer  very  well.  Let  him  divide  his  inspec- 
tion as  before :  first  a  tour  around  the  walls  outside,  then  inside ;  next 
a  survey  of  the  materials  inside  the  excavation,  and  lastly  of  those 
outside.  The  concrete  piers  are  found  to  be  nearly  done.  They 
should  be  completed  and  left  for  a  week  or  two  to  harden.  The 
footings  are  nearly  all  in,  the  masonry  under  the  north  and  south  ex- 
terior, or  aisle  walls,  is  three  or  four  feet  above  the  cellar-bottom,  and 
the  clerestory  foundation  several  courses  high.  The  tower  founda- 
tion is  also  started,  and  the  drainage-well  and  trench  in  that  place 
ready.  We  notice  dust  on  the  surface  of  the  concrete,  which  other- 
wise appears  well  mixed,  and  is  about  as  hard,  and  of  much  the  same 
consistency,  as  ordinary  sweet  chocolate.  By  breaking  off  a  piece 
and  rubbing  it  on  the  hand,  a  rough  judgment  can  be  formed  of  its 
composition.  If  it  contains  too  much  sand,  it  will  lack  coherence,  and 
crumble  away.  We  direct  that  the  dust  shall  be  washed  clean  off 
the  surface  of  the  piers  before  the  next  layer  of  concrete  is  added ; 
otherwise  the  two  layers  will  not  adhere. 

Outside  the  aisle  walls  the  gravel  has  been  filled  in  as  fast  as  they 
were  built  up.  This  is  customary  and  proper,  but  we  will  have  a 
hole  dug  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  the  outside  of  the  wall  has  been 
pointed  as  we  directed.  If  not,  we  order  the  whole  to  be  dug  out, 
the  wall  thoroughly  wet,  and  the  pointing  done  in  a  proper  manner. 
If  all  is  satisfactory,  we  will  remind  the  workmen  to  puddle  the 
gravel  filling  as  fast  as  it  is  put  in,  by  throwing  on  water.  If  water 
is  difficult  to  get,  the  gravel  may  be  packed  with  wooden  rammers. 
In  a  clayey  soil,  the  filling  next  the  outside  of  the  wall  should  not  be 
of  the  excavated  material,  but  gravel  or  cinders  should  be  obtained, 
at  least  for  the  lower  part. 

As  we  pass  around  the  building,  we  take  care  to  look  at  the  lines 
from  which  the  walls  are  being  built.  They  will  probably  bj  shown 
by  cords  stretched  between  the  batter-boards,  from  which  plumb-lines 
hanging  at  intervals  serve  to  transmit  the  required  points  to  the  cel- 
lar-bottom where  the  men  are  at  work ;  and  the  batter-boards  should 


50 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


be  examined  to  see  that  the  cords  are  attached  at  the  proper  notches ; 
if  these  are  correct,  we  must  observe  whether  the  masonry  is  being 
laid  exactly  to  the  lines  so  given.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  make 
mistakes  in  these  respects  "at  the  outse*,  which  will  be  very  difficult 
to  remedy  afterwards.  It  may  often  be  observed  that  a  few  courses 
in  a  wall  have  been  built  incorrectly,  and  the  line  having  been  soon 
afterward  rectified,  the  masonry  is  built  out,  overhanging  these  courses 
either  on  one  side  or  the  other,  so  as  to  recover  their  proper  position. 
Any  such  work  should  be  immediately  taken  down,  and  rebuilt  cor- 
rectly from  the  bottom.  A  want  of  firmness  and  decision  in  this  re- 
spect on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  will  be  the  source  of  much 
greater  troubles  afterwards. 

So  far  as  we  observe,  the  workmanship  of  the  wall  is  tolerably 
good ;  the  horizontal  joints  are  well  broken,  giving  a  good  longitudi- 
nal bond,  and  the  cross  bond  is  maintained  by  a  suffi- 
cient proportion  of  stones  extending  through  the  whole 
thickness  of  the  wall.  (Fig.  31.)  If  any  portions  had  come  to  our 
notice  where  vertical  joints  came  one 
above  the  other  (Fig.  32)  through 
three  or  four  successive  courses,  we 
should  at  once  have  ordered  them 


Bonding. 


IZ3PK 

^^M^m^ir. /^ 

!|«^ 


Fig.  31  Fig.  32. 

torn  down  and  rebuilt,  but  none  appear.  It  will,  however,  be  well 
to  watch  the  men  from  time  to  time,  and  observe  their  manner  of 
working.  The  acquaintance  with  their  individual  characters  thus 
formed  will  save  much  time  subsequently,  by  showing  us  in  what 
quarters  to  look  most  sharply  for  careless  indifference  to  orders,  in- 
tentional shirking,  and  well-meaning  ignorance,  as  well  as  where  to 
expect  intelligence,  faithfulness  and  skill. 

As  we  pass  along  by  the  aisle  wall  we  notice  a  mason  at  a  little  dis- 
tance haranguing  his  companions  on  some  subject  about  which  he 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  51 

seems  to  have  a  flow  of  words,  if  not  of  ideas.  Seeing  us  coming, 
he  hastily  shovels  up  a  trowelful  of  gravel  and  stone  chips  from  be- 
side him,  and  throws  them  dry  into  a  cavity  in  the  stone-work  befora 
him,  then  dashes  a  quantity  of  mortar  on  the  top,  and  smooths  it 
over.  To  all  appearance,  his  part  of  the  wall  is  done  just  like  his 
neighbors'  work,  but  our  suspicions  have  been  aroused,  and  we  ap- 
proach and  thrust  the  steel  rod  down  into  the  fresh  masonry.  The 
supple  wire  insinuates  itself  among  the  stones  far  down  into  the  wall, 
meeting  now  and  then  with  the  slight  resistance  due  to  the  soft  mor- 
tar, but  penetrating  many  void  spaces  of  considerable  size,  which 
are  instantly  detected  by  the  feeling.  One  or  two  other  trials  give 
the  same  result,  and  as  masonry  so  laid  is  liable  to  settle  under  the 
weight  of  the  walls  above,  besides  being  permeable  to  water,  we 
order  the  man  to  take  down  his  work  and  rebuild  it  with  joints 
properly  filled.  He  grumbles,  but  begins  with  a  very  poor  grace  to 
remove  the  stones,  while  we  remain  near  to  see  that  our  direction  is 
strictly  complied  with,  testing  meanwhile  the  walling  laid  by  the 
other  men,  which  proves  reasonably  satisfactory.  It  is  too  much  to 
expect  that  all  the  voids  will  be  completely  filled,  but  the  steel  rod 
will  quickly  show  the  difference  between  good  and  bad  work.  Every 
man  whose  workmanship  is  once  found  to  be  carelessly  or  inten- 
tionally defective  should  be  noted,  and  the  portion  of  wall  on  which 
each  is  engaged  should  be  continually  tested. 

There  are  other  qualities  in  rough  masonry  besides  a  large  propor- 
tion of  mortar  which  are  essential  to  its  good  quality,  and  about 
many  of  these  also  the  steel  wand  will  inform  us. 

The  usual  practice  of  masons  in  rough  walling  is,  after  setting  the 
larger  stcnes,  to  fill  the  interstices  with  "  chips,"  or  even  pebbles, 
more  or  less  carefully  fitted,  put  in  dry ;  then  to  dash  in  mortar, 
trusting  that  it  will  work  its  way  into  the  crevices.  It  does  so  to  a 
great  extent,  especially  if  the  wall  is  grouted  occasionally  with  thin 
mortar,  but  the  dishonest  or  indifferent  men  shirk  the  trouble  of  fitting 
in  the  smaller  stones  one  by  one,  and  content  themselves  with  throw- 
ing in  a  lump  or  two  of  any  shape,  and  then  a  quantity  of  small 
chips,  which  catch  in  the  crevices  and  hang  long  enough  to  allow  a 
fair  bed  of  mortar  to  be  spread  over  them,  hiding  the  empty  cavities 
below.  This  sort  of  work  is  immediately  detected  by  the  steel  rod> 
which  can  be  felt  to  shake  and  dislodge  the  loose  pieces.  The  very 


52 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


best  workmen  avoid  either  of  these  methods,  and  place  no  stone, 
even  the  smallest  chip,  except  in  a  bed  of  mortar  prepared  to  receive 
it,  rubbjng  it  well  in,  and  settling  it  with  blows  of  the  trowel  or  ham- 
mer, again  driving  smaller-  fragments^nto  the  mortar  which  is 
squeezed  up  around  it,  so  that  nowhere :  does  stone  meet  stone  with- 
out a  cementing  layer.  The  men  who  do  work  of  this  kind  should 
be  remembered,  and  the  others  incited  to  imitate  them  as  far  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  following  points  should  be  constantly  and  carefully  observed. 
In  laying  the  larger  stones,  the  workmen  will  of  themselves  set  the 

smoothest  face  to- 
ward the  visible 
side  of  the  wall ;  the 
super in  tendent 
must  see  that  the 
outer  side,  which 
will  be  buried  in 
the  ground,  has  also 
a  good,  smooth 
face;  that  the  bot- 
tom bed  of  each 
stone  is  level,  or 
nearly  so ;  or  if  not, 
that  the  masonry 
on  which  it  is  to 
rest  is  brought  up 
with  mortar  and 
stone  chips  to  fit 
its  concavities  be- 
fore it  is  laid  ;  that 
there  are  plenty  of 
J  headers,  or  bond 
stones,  extending 
across  the  wall  from 
side  to  side  to  pre- 
vent its  splitting ;  that  long  stretchers  running  lengthwise  of  the 
wall  are  sufficiently  numerous ;  and  that  all  angles  are  tied  by 
stones  laid  alternately  in  either  wall.  (Fig.  33.) 


Fig.  34, 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  53 

Care  must  be  taken  in  building  up  the  wall  to  keep  in  mind  the 
position  of  the  window  and  door  openings  which  are  to  come  above. 
The  tendency  always  is  for  masonry  below  a  pier  to  settle  under  the 
excess  of  weight,  down  to  the  very  footings,  tearing  itself  away  from 
the  less  compressed  portion  under  the  opening  (Fig.  34),  so  that  long 
stones  should  be  built  in,  extending  from  the  part  under  the  pier 
to  that  under  the  opening,  to  carry  the  weight  out  and  distribute 
it  uniformly  over  the  whole  foundation.  For  the  same  reason,  if  the 
sills  of  openings  are  built  into  the  wall,  instead  of  being  "  slipped  " 
in  afterwards,  they  must  be  pinned  up  only  at  the  ends,  a  clear  space 
of  half  an  inch  being  left  between  their  under  sides  and  the  masonry 
below  them,  which  should  not  be  pointed  up  until  the  completion  of 
the  building :  otherwise  the  settlement  of  the  piers  will  carry  down 
the  ends  of  the  sill  more  than  the  middle  part,  and  it  will  be  broken. 

The  proper  proportion  of  headers  varies  according  to  circum- 
stances, but  in  an  ordinary  foundation  one  stone  at  least  in  every 
space  of  five  feet  square  should  extend  through  the  whole  thickness 
of  the  wall. 

An  opening  should  be  left  for  drain-pipes  to  pass  out,  and  for  water 
and  gas  pipes  to  enter  the  building,  covered  with  strong  stone  lintels. 
Neither  contractors  nor  their  men  ever  think  of  this,  unless  reminded 
by  the  superintendent,  and  in  consequence,  when  the  time  comes 
for  laying  the  pipes,  ragged  holes  have  to  be  broken  through  the 
wall,  at  Jie  imminent  risk  of  causing  settlements. 

A  very  important  element  in  determining  the  character  of  the 
foundation  walling  is  the  height  of  the  masonry  above  it.  Not  only 
will  a  high  and  heavy  wall  compress  a  loamy  or  other  yielding  ground 
beneath  it  more  than  an  adjoining  light  wall,  but  the  mortar  joints  in 
the  high  wall,  if  laid  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  the  lighter  wall,  will 
be  squeezed  into  a  smaller  compass  by  lie  greater  weight ;  a  very 
considerable  inequality  of  settlement  resulting  from  the  combined 
effect  of  the  two  causes,  with  consequent  dislocation  of  the  masonry. 

To  illustrate  this  by  the  example  before  us :  The  tower  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  church,  disregarding  for  the  present  the  circum- 
stance that  it  will  stand  on  a  rock  foundation,  while  the  adjacent 
walls  rest  upon  gravel  and  clay,  is  to  be  so  high,  and  the  masonry 
rear  the  bottom  so  heavily  weighted,  in  comparison  with  the  light 
and  low  aisle  wall  which  adjoins  it  on  the  south-east,  that  if  the  lower 


54  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

portion  of  the  two  were  to  be  built  up  together,  in  the  same  manner, 
with  stones  of  the  same  size,  in  ordinary  mortar,  the  compression  of 
the  mortar  in  the  tower  under  the  increasing  weight  would  be  so 
much  greater  than  in  the  aisle  wall  that  by  the  time  the  spire  was 
finished,  of  two  stones,  one  in  the  aisle  wall  and  the  other  in  that  of 
the  tower,  originally  set  at  the  same  level,  the  latter  might  be  forced 
down  two  inches  or  more  lower  than  the  other ;  a  movement  which 
would  cause  dislocation  the  whole  height  of  the  aisle  wall.  Many 
stone  church-towers  show  this  effect,  which  can,  however,  be  avoided 
by  proper  care.  There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  difficulty  may 
be  met.  One  is  to  make  the  tower  masonry  of  the  largest  stones,  as 
high  as  the  top  of  the  aisle  wall,  making  the  aisle  wall  of  small 
stones.  In  this  way  the  number  of  joints  in  the  high  wall  will  be  so 
much  less  than  in  the  low  ono  that  although  the  compression  of  each 
will  be  greater,  the  aggregate  settlement  will  be  about  the  same. 
Another  expedient  is  to  make  the  mortar  joints  in  the  high  wall  thin, 
and  those  in  the  low  adjoining  wall  thick.  The  third  is  to  lay  the 
high  wall  in  cement,  and  the  low  one  in  mortar  made  mostly  of  lime ; 
then  the  contraction  of  the  cement  joints  being  relatively  much  less 
than  with  lime  mortar,  the  total  settlement  can  be  kept  nearly  equal 
in  the  two  walls. 

The  rationale  of  the  last  method  depends  upon  the  distinction, 
which  should  never  be  lost  sight  of,  between  the  "  setting  "  action  in 
lime  and  cement.  Strictly  speaking,  pure  lime  mortar  does  not  "  set." 
The  soft  paste  resulting  from  the  slaking  process  if  exposed  to  the 
air,  or  placed  on  a  piece  of  blotting  paper,  or  between  dry  and  ab- 
sorbent bricks,  will  lose  a  little  of  the  water  used  in  mixing,  leaving 
a  firm,  damp  mass  of  hydrate  of  lime,  which  consists  of  pure  lime 
holding  in  a  loose  chemical  union  about  twice  its  bulk  of  water.  This 
water  still  continues  to  evaporate  slowly,  and  the  paste  to  diminish  in 
bulk,  during  a  period  of  months,  years,  or  even  centuries,  if  the  wall 
is  very  thick ;  and  if  the  hydrated  lime  forms  the  cementing  medium 
between  the  courses  of  a  wall,  the  wall  will  settle  as  long  as  the  evap- 
oration and  shrinkage  continue.  The  superposition  of  a  heavy  weight 
increases  the  settlement,  partly  by  the  forcing  of  the  semi-plastic 
material  out  of  the  joints,  and  partly  by  the  pressing  out  of  the  water 
of  hydration  more  rapidly  than  it  would  pass  off  by  natural  evapora- 
tion. This  indefinite  shrinkage  of  the  lime  is  the  principal,  perhaps 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  55 

the  sole  reason  for  the  addition  of  sand  to  mortar.  The  particles  of 
sand  being  incompressible,  and  divided  from  each  other  by  thin 
layers  of  lime,  the  contraction  of  these  layers  exerts  a  comparatively 
small  influence  on  the  total  mass,  so  that  a  joint  of  half  an  inch  in 
height,  in  mortar  of  lime  and  sand,  will  usually  settle  less  than  a  six- 
teenth of  an  inch ;  while  if  made  of  lime  only,  it  might  shrink  half 
its  width. 

With  cement  the  action  is  quite  different.  When  mixed  into  paste 
with  water,  a  few  minutes  only  elapse  before  the  soft  paste  suddenly 
assumes  a  firm  consistency,  so  as  to  resist  the  impression  of  a  pointed 
instrument.  This  is  the  "  set,"  and  forms  a  true  chemical  reaction, 
by  which  a  portion  of  the  water  enters  into  close  combination  with 
the  cement,  from  which  it  cannot  afterwards  be  separated  except  by 
heating  to  redness.  AVith  the  help  of  this  combined  water,  the  con- 
stituents of  the  cement  enter  upon  a  series  of  reactions  by  which 
they  gradually  form  a  hard  stone,  little  less  in  bulk  than  the  original 
cement  paste,  and  with  some  cements  even  equal  to,  or  greater  than 
the  volume  of  paste.  This  characteristic  quality  of  cement  gives  it 
great  value  in  controlling  the  settlement  which  forms  an  important 
element  in  the  consideration  of  stone  structures ;  and  by  mixing 
cement  and  lime  in  different  proportions  a  whole  range  of  mortars 
can  be  obtained  having  any  desired  Quality  as  to  diminution  of  bulk 
in  hardening. 

Returning  to  our  tower,  for  which  we  have  to  choose  among  the 
three  methods  of  keeping  the  masonry  at  the  same  level  in  its  walls 
and  in  the  comparatively  low  aisle  wall  adjoining  ;  we  reflect  that  to 
lay  the  tower  walls  in  cement  and  the  adjoining  wall  in  lime  mortar 
would  be  sufficient,  but  the  contrast  in  color  between  the  brown  cem- 
ent joints  and  the  white  of  the  lime  would  be  objectionable  in  the 
walls  above  ground.  The  same  would  be  the  case,  in  a  less  degree, 
if  we  were  to  lay  the  tower  wall  with  thin  joints,  using  thick  joints  in 
the  aisle  wall.  If  we  lessen  the  number  of  joints  in  the  tower,  in- 
stead of  diminishing  their  width,  by  building  it  of  large  stones,  the 
same  end  will  be  attained,  and  the  contrast  of  the  massive  masonry 
in  the  one  with  the  small  stones  in  the  other  will  be  rather  piquant 
and  attractive  than  otherwise. 

But  we  must  not  forget  the  difficulties  presented  by  the  ground  be- 
neath the  tower  and  the  adjacent  walls.  The  trenches  show  that 


56  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

under  the  tower  we  can  reach  the  rock  everywhere,  at  least  by  going 
down  two  or  three -feet  below  the  general  bottom  of  the  trenches  in 
one  corner.  All  this  foundation  will  then  stand  on  the  solid  ledge. 
To  get  a  rock  foundation  for  the  aisler'Wall  would,  however,  require 
very  deep  digging,  the  ledge  sloping  rapidly  eastward  ;  and  yet  if 
one  wall  is  built  on  rock  and  the  other  on  compressible  ground,  the 
latter  will  settle  and  tear  itself  away.  The  soil  overlying  the  rock 
under  the  aisle  wall,  as  shown  by  the  trench,  is  gravel,  which  has  the 
advantage  of  being  practically  as  incompressible  as  the  rock  itself  if 
not  loaded  beyond  a  certain  point.  In  general,  it  will  not  yield  per- 
ceptibly under  a  less  load  than  five  tons  to  the  super- 

ficial  foot'  but  to  make  sure'  we  wil1  take  three  tonsas 
the  limit,  as  a  soil  of  so  little  depth  over  a  ledge  is  less 

reliable  than  if  it  were  deeper.  We  will  reckon  up  roughly  the  weights 
with  which  the  soil  is  to  be  loaded.  The  foundation,  allowing  an  ex- 
tra foot  for  the  excess  in  width  of  the  footings  over  the  rest  of  the 
wall,  is  1 2  feet  high,  2  feet  thick.  The  wall  above  is  20  feet  high, 
20  inches  thick;  total,  12  x  2  =24 
20  x  If  =  33 

—  57  cubic  feet  of  masonry  to  each 

linear  foot  of  the  aisle  wall,  which  at  150  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  an 
average  weight  for  such  masonry,  will  amount  to  8,550  pounds. 

Of  the  roof,  which  slopes  at  an  angle  of  45°,  about  two-thirds  the 
weight  will  come  on  the  aisle  wall,  the  rest  being  borne  by  the  clere- 
story wall.     The  roof,  measured  on  the  slope,  is  15  feet  wide,  and 
the  weight  of  rafters,  boarding  and  slate,  and  plaster- 
Calculation  of  ing  on  the  under  side,  may  be  taken  at  30  pounds 
Foundation,   per  superficial  foot.    Adding  the  possible  weight   of 
wet    snow  and  ice,  40   pounds    per    superficial   foot, 
makes  70  pounds  per  square  foot,  which  multiplied  by  the  width,  15 
feet,  gives  1,050  pounds  to  each  linear  foot  of  roof.     Two- thirds  of 
this,  or  700  pounds,  is  to  be  added  to  the  previous  weight  of  the  ma- 
sonry, 8,550  pounds. 

One  more  burden  must  be  calculated  and  added  to  the  rest  to  find 
the  whole  load  which  will  need  to  be  sustained  by  the  subsoil  beneath 
the  wall :  that  is,  the  floor,  which  being  level  rests  half  on  the  aisle 
and  half  on  the  clerestory  wall.  The  span  is  10  feet,  so  that  5  square 
feet,  weighing  30  pounds  per  foot,  with  a  possible  additional  load  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  57 

120  pounds,  will  give  5  X  150  =  750  pounds  more,  to  be  added  to  the 
total  pressure  on  the  footings,  the  whole  amounting  to  8,550  +  700  -f 
750  =  10,000  pounds,  or  exactly  five  tons,  on  each  linear  foot  of  wall. 
As  the  wall  is  two  feet  thick,  the  weight  on  each  linear  foot  is  divided 
over  two  superficial  feet,  making  two  and  one-half  tons  on  each.  We 
have  increased  the  spread  of  the  footings  from  the  usual  six  inches 
on  each  side  to  twelve ;  this  will  divide  the  burden  at  the  point  of 
contact  with  the  earth  over  four  square  feet  instead  of  two,  making 
the  pressure  but  one  and  one-quarter  tons  to  the  superficial  foot  of 
soil.  This  is  sufficiently  far  within  the  limits  of  resistance  to  com- 
pression to  give  assurance  that  no  settlement  of  the  substratum  is  to 
be  feared. 

We  have  then  only  to  direct  that  the  largest  stones  shall  be  selected 
for  the  tower  and  its  foundations,  that  every  stone  shall  be  hammered 
well  down  into  its  bed,  so  as  to  bring  the  surfaces  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble into  contact,  and  that  all  the  crevices  shall  be  thoroughly  filled 
with  stone  chips  and  mortar.  The  aisle  wall  adjoining  is  to  be  built 
of  smaller  stones,  and  tied  into  the  tower  wall  every  few  feet  in 
height  with  long  stones  as  well  as  with  iron  anchors. 

In  bedding  the  tower  footing-stones  upon  the  rock,  any  little  ridges 
or  projections  on  the  surface  of  the  ledge  must  be  hammered  off,  so 
as  to  give  a  moderately  even  bed,  and  small  stones  and  mortar  must 
be  built  up  to  fit  the  irregularities  of  the  under  side  of  the  footing- 
stone,  and  finally,  a  thick  bed  of  mortar  spread  over  all,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  cavities  under  the  stone.  All  the  heavy  blocks  should  be 
laid  with  a  derrick,  so  that  they  can  be  held  suspended 
over  their  place  while  the  bed  is  being  prepared,  and 
if  they  are  very  irregular,  lowered  into  place  and  then 
raised  again,  so  that  the  impression  made  in  the  soft  mortar  will  show 
whether  the  bed  is  exactly  fitted.  The  practice  of  rolling  the  stones 
into  their  place  with  crowbars  must  never  be  permitted  in  a  heavy 
wall.  The  bars  tear  up  and  dislocate  the  bed  of  small  stones  and 
mortar  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  sure  that  the  stone 
when  so  laid  does  not  rest  on  the  edges  of  two  or  three  little  chips, 
which  will  crush  and  cause  serious  settlements  when  an  increased 
load  comes  to  be  placed  upon  them. 

It  will  not  be  so  easy  to  make  a  neat  outside  and  inside  face  to  the 
foundation-wall  of  large  blocks,  but  it  should  be  done,  especially  on 


58  BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE, 

the  outside,  even  if  some  of  the  stones  have  to  be  dressed  off  It  is 
dangerous  in  a  heavy  building  to  leave,  as  is  often  done,  the  larger 
pieces  in  a  foundation-wall  projecting  outside,  to  save  the  trouble  of 
cutting  away  the  excess  of  Tsize.  Not  gnly  will  water  get  into  the 
wall  by  running  along  the  top  of  such  a  stone,  but  hard  earth,  or  a 
pebble,  may  be  wedged  under  the  projecting  end,  so  as  to  keep  it  up 
while  the  wall  settles  under  the  increasing  load,  causing  a  bad  crack 
beneath  it,  and  throwing  the  whole  weight  on  the  inner'- end  of  the 
stone,  which  is  likely  either  to  give  way  altogether,  or  to  break  up 
the  masonry  about  it. 

Our  tour  outside  the  walls  being  now  completed,  that  inside  may  be 
short.  We  must  see  that  the  drain  under  the  tower  does  not  get  ob- 
structed, and  that  a  good  opening,  spanned  by  a  strong  stone,  is  left 
for  it  to  pass  beneath  the  walls.  Workmen  have  not  so  high  a  respect 
for  drain-pipes  as  architects,  and  will  often  cover  up  a  choked  or 
broken  pipe,  saying  nothing  about  it,  thinking  that  they  will  be  out 
of  the  way  before  the  trouble  is  discovered,  and  careless  of  the  very 
great  expense  which  may  be  necessary  to  replace  it.  The  clerestory 
foundation  must  be  sharply  watched  :  long  stones  are  the  first  requi- 
site for  this  wall ;  everything  depending  on  the  efficiency  with  which 
the  concentrated  load  on  the  piers  is  spread  out  laterally  over  the 
foundation,  till  the  pressure  on  the  footings  is  uniform  under  piers  and 
openings  alike.  The 


cautioned  to  leave 
an  opening  two  or  three  feet  square 
at  the  top  of  this  wall,  under  the 
arches  (Fig.  35),  and  the  same 
precaution  must  be  observed  wher- 
ever any  portion  of  a  cellar  is  cut 
off  by  walls  from  the  main  part,  in 
order  to  secure  circulation  of  air. 
If  deprived  of  this,  the  beams  of 
the  floor  above  are  sure  to  rot  be- 
fore many  years,  and  will  sometimes  fall  in  all  at  once  after  a 
few  months. 

The  derricks,  of  which  two  or  three  are  probably  now  set  up,  must 
be  examined.     Let  the  superintendent   see  that  the  ropes  are  not 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


fraying  out,  and  that  neither  the  mast  nor  the  boom  is  cracked  or 
sprung  out  of  perfect  straightness.  He  must  also  ob- 
serve where  each  of  the  guy-ropes  is  fastened.  Every  erricks. 
one  should  be  secured  to  a  growing  tree,  or  a  post  set  five  feet  or 
more  into  a  hole  in  the  ground,  and  the  earth  refilled  and  packed 
around  it.  If  any  guy-rope  has  been  carelessly  fas- 
tened to  a  fence-post,  which  is  very  likely  to  be  half 
rotted  off  at  the  ground,  or  to  a  curbstone,  or  a  boul- 
der, or  any  other  anchorage  not  perfectly  secure,  orders  must  at  once 
be  given  to  have  it  changed,  and  all  guys  must  be  strictly  required  to 
be  drawn  up  taut.  A  loose  derrick  rope,  or  an  insufficient  anchorage, 
is  terribly  tried  when  a  heavy  stone  on  the  end  of  the  boom  is  swung 
around  so  as  to  bring  the  strain  suddenly  upon  it,  and  although  that 
is  properly  the  contractor's  affair,  a  little  attention  on  the  part  of  the 
architect  will  do  no  harm,  and  may  save  loss  of  property,  and  even 
life.  The  foundation-walls  of  the  chancel,  it  should  not  be  forgotten, 
are  to  be  lined  with  brick,  and  anchors  must  be  built  in  to  hold  the 
lining  as  described  below.  We  will  remind  the  contractor  of  this  in 
good  season. 

The  last  thing  to  be  done  is  to  inspect  the  materials  delivered  since 
our  previous  visit,  which  will  end  our  duties  for  the  day. 

A  quantity  of  granite  for  the  face  of  the  basement  wall  above 
ground  has  been  sent,  already  cut ;  it  being  very  common  to  cut  the 
harder  stones  at  the  quarry,  while  the  softer  freestones  are  cut  at 
the  building.  The  blocks  are  of  random  sizes,  and  vary  much  in 
thickness,  some  being  one  or  more  points  less  than  two  inches  thick. 
These  should  be  at  once  rejected,  no  matter  how  thick  they  may  be 

at  the  other  edges  (Fig.  36),  since  their  corners  are 

liable  to  break  off  under  the  weight, 

and  disfigure  the  work.   Still  worse 

are  the  stones  which,  though  of  suf- 

\"^L*  **•--•!    Y"  E^j^X\ 
^xli4  ^Bly     ficient  thickness  around  the  edges, 

are  hollow  in  the  middle.     (Fio-. 

F        ,fi  \    °  Fig.     '  37 

87.)  Not  even  the  most  skilful 
backing  can  make  these  secure.  Usually,  the  minimum  thickness 
admissible  in  the  facing  blocks  is  mentioned  in  the  specification,  but 
if  not,  nothing  under  six  inches  should  be  allowed  in  the  basement. 
wall,  and  not  that  unless  all  such  stones  are  anchored  to  the  backing. 


60  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

It  is  rather  advantageous  to  have  the  stones  large  on  one  bed  and 
small  on  the  other,  provided  they  do  not  come  to  too  thin  an  edge. 
(Fig.  38.)     Such  stones  bond  well  together  and  to 
the  backing. 

It  is  common  in  specifications  to  require  that 
granite  shall  be  "free  from  knots,  sap,  shakes  and 
rot."  Rotten,  or  crumbling  granite  is  easily  de- 
tected, as  are  also  the  brown  stains  known  as  "  sap," 
and  the  black  or  white  lumps  called  "knots." 
Shakes,  if  very  bad,  are  shown  by  their  discolored 
edges,  but  we  are  likely,  with  some  kinds  of  granite, 
to  find  stones  with  seams  through  them,  which  are 
tight  enough  to  hold  together  while  the  stone  is  cut,  but  will,  after  they 
are  placed  in  the  wall,  open  by  the  effect  of  the  weight  upon  them, 
and  allow  rain-water  to  penetrate.  Where  the  stone  is  thick  enough 
to  extend  nearly  through  the  wall,  a  great  deal  of  water  will  often 
in  heavy  rains  blow  into  the  building  through  a  seam  which  may  have 
been  quite  imperceptible  when  the  stone  was  set  in  place.  The  most 
certain  way  of  detecting  blocks  so  affected  is  to  strike  them  with  a 
hammer,  rejecting  the  stones  which  do  not  ring  clearly. 

The  only  other  new  material  which  we  find  delivered  is  brick,  of 
which  two  lots  are  on  the  ground ;  one  near  the  west  end  of  the 
building,  which  we  find  to  be  mainly  composed  of  small  bricks,  of  a 
dark  color,  the  ends  of  many  being  black  or  bluish, 
and  generally  crooked  or  irregular  in  shape.  In  the 
middle  of  the  cellar  others  are  piled,  larger,  and  more  regular  in 
shape,  but  light-colored,  at  least  one  in  four  being  very  pale.  We 
will  test  the  hardness  of  these  by  actual  trial,  since  the  color  by  itself 
is  an  unreliable  indication,  many  clays  yielding  a  light-colored  brick 
of  very  good  quality.  Selecting  two  of  the  paler  ones,  we  strike 
them  together  ;  they  meet  with  a  dull  sound,  and  the  edges  crumble 
at  the  point  of  contact.  After  a  few  blows  one  breaks  in  two,  showing 
an  earthy  fracture,  destitute  of  the  compact,  hard  look  of  good  brick. 

The  reddest-looking  of  this  lot  ring  quite  clearly  when  struck  to- 
gether, and  their  good  shape  is  in  their  favor,  but  the  men  could  not 
be  depended  on  to  pick  out  the  best  ones,  and  it  is  safest  to  order 
the  whole  lot  sent  back.  If  the  contractor  is  honest,  he  will  have 
ordered  good  brick,  and  if  the  superintendent  rejects  them,  the  loss 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  61 

will  not  be  his,  but  the  brick-maker's.  If  the  superintendent  passes 
them,  through  negligence  or  complaisance,  not  only  is  the  contractor 
deprived  of  his  support  in  attempting  to  compel  the  dealer  to  furnish 
better  materials,  but  he  is  likely  to  think  that  he  need  not  himself  be 
too  scrupulous  in  other  respects.  Let  the  superintendent  make  a 
note  of  having  rejected  the  bricks,  and  give  the  contractor  a  memo- 
randum of  it ;  following  up  his  action  by  a  close  watch  to  see  that  his 
directions  are  carried  out.  Let  him  never  allow  any  brick  of  which 
he  can  crumble  the  edge  with  his  fingers  to  remain  on  the  ground. 
The  hard,  but  crooked  bricks,  if  not  too  much  distorted,  may  be  util- 
ized in  the  backing  of  the  stone-work,  or  in  forming  the  jambs  of 
basement  openings,  but  must  not  be  used  in  any  pier  or  arch. 

The  staging  lumber  will  need  occasional  attention.  Although  with 
us  the  architect  takes  no  responsibility  about  the  scaffold,  his  direc- 
tions in  regard  to  it  will  be  listened  to  with  respect,  and  he  has  an 
undoubted  right  to  control  its  construction  where  that  may  influence 
the  execution  of  the  building. 

SIXTH   VISIT. 

At  our  next  visit  we  find  the  first  staging  up,  the  drain-pipes  on 
the  ground,  centres  ready  for  the  arches  under  west  wall,  and  the 
arch  bricks  delivered.  We  go  around  the  outside  of  the  walls,  then 
inside,  then  examine  the  materials  inside,  and  lastly,  those  outside. 
This  should  be  the  regular  routine  of  each  visit,  as  the  surest  way  of 
observing  whatever  may  be  new  in  the  work. 

The  concrete  piers  are  firm  enough  to  build  the  arches  upon  them, 
the  foundations  are  going  on  well  and  nearly  finished,  with  good 
bond,  and  neatly  pointed  outside ;  the  long  stones  under  clerestory 
wall  have  not  been  forgotten,  and  trials  with  the  steel  rod  reveal  only 
a  few  places  to  be  taken  out  and  filled  up.  In  the  tower  foundation 
the  opening  for  drain-pipe  is  properly  formed,  and  the  large  stones 
well  laid  and  bonded.  On  our  way  to  the  tower,  we  watch  the  set- 
ting of  the  capstones  to  the  concrete  piers.  The  stones  have  been 
cut  square,  with  "  skew-backs  "  formed  for  the  arches  to  spring  from, 
and  all  the  faces  "  pointed "  to  a  uniform  surface ;  the  top  of  the 
concrete  is  well  wet.  a  layer  of  cement  mortar  made  with  an  equal 
bulk  of  sand  is  spread  over  it  about  an  inch  thick,  and  the  stone 
lowered  into  it,  and  beaten  down  by  blows  of  a  sledge-hammer,  not 
applied  directly  on  the  stone,  but  on  a  piece  of  timber  interposed. 


62  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  cement  will  soon  set,  and  the  centres  can  be  placed  in  position 
at  once  and  the  arches  commenced.  These  should  be  built  in  sepa- 
Ah  ra^e  concen^ric  rings  or  rowlocks,  four  inches  thick, 
rather  than  in  the  fashion  called  "  bonded,''  where  each 
ring  is  tied  to  the  others  by  bricks  set  the  eight-inch  way.  The  latter 
has  some  advantage  in  point  of  appearance,  but  the  arch  of  separate 
rowlocks  possesses  a  certain  elasticity,  and  power  of  accommodating 
itself  to  the  weights  upon  it,  which  make  it  much  better  in  heavy 
constructions.  The  bricks  must  be  very  regular  in  shape,  well  soaked 
in  water,  —  not  merely  sprinkled,  —  and  laid  with  mortar  of  equal 
parts  of  cement  and  sand.  The  arches  spanning  the  basement  open- 
ings, behind  the  straight  lintels  which  terminate  them  outside,  should 
be  built  in  a  similar  manner. 

None  of  the  granite  facing  of  the  basement  wall  has  yet  been  set, 
although  the  grade  lines  which  mark  its  commencement  are  set  out 
by  strings  stretched  between  stakes  outside.  We  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  question  the  contractor 
about  the  manner  in  which  he  proposes  to  anchor  the  face  to  the 
backing.  The  specification  indefinitely  requires  it  to  be  "  well  an- 
chored," without  further  details.  Much  depends  on  the  character  of 
the  ashlar.  If  the  stones  are  thick,  with  many  of  them  extending 
through  the  whole  thickness  of  the  wall,  as  is  common  in  Europe,  no 
other  ties  will  be  necessary  to  keep  the  weight  of  the  superstructure 
from  forcing  the  facing  stones  off  the  wall,  but  with  us  such  ashlar 
varies  from  two  to  twelve  inches  in  thickness,  according  to  the  value 
of  the  material,  backed  by  a  rubble  masonry  of  rough  stone  or  brick, 
to  which  it  must  be  held  by  iron  ties. 

A  four-inch  ashlar,  and  still  more  a  two-inch,  which  is  used  only 
for  facings  of  marble,  must  have,  for  a  high  wall,  at  least  one  anchor 
in  every  stone.  When  the  ashlar  is  thicker  than  this, 
^ey  mav  be  much  less  numerous.  We  find  our  gran- 
ite blocks  to  average  eight  inches  in  thickness,  and 
being  assured  by  the  contractor  that  the  stones  to  come  will  be  of  a 
similar  character,  we  agree  with  him  that  if  the  anchors  are  so  dis- 
tributed that  there  shall  be  at  least  one  to  every  three  feet  in  length, 
and  two  feet  in  height,  the  work  shall  be  accepted  as  satisfactory, 
stipulating  also  that  the  last  course  of  ashlar,  under  the  water-table 
which  marks  the  transition  from  granite  to  freestone  at  the  first-floor 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


level,  shall  have  an  anchor  in  every  stone.  The  brownstone  ashlar 
for  the  upper  part  of  the  wall  will  be  of  about  the  same  thickness, 
and  the  same  proportion  of  anchors  is  directed  for  that  also  ;  every 
stone  under  the  horizontal  string-courses  and  cornices  to  be  anchored, 

.,      in  the  same  way  as  under  the  wa- 
|    \\      ter-table.     The  anchors  are  made 
\//^     of  wrought-iron  strips  about  one 
/      inch  wide,  and  as  much  as  one- 
twelfth-inch  thick.     Iron  of  one- 
sixteenth-inch  thickness  is  some- 
times used,  but  is  too  light.     One  end  is  turned  up  about  two  and  a 
half  inches,  and  the  other  is  turned  down  about  one  and  a  quarter 
inches.     This  end  is  heated  by  the  blacksmith  and  driven  by  a  blow 
into  a  round  hole  made  in  the  anvil,  which  rolls  it  into  a  tubular  shape 
suited  for  insertion  into  a  hole  drilled  in  the  top  of  the  stone  to  be 
anchored.     (Fig.  39.) 

The  drill-hole  should  be  one  and  a  half  or  two  inches  from  the 
face  of  the  ashlar  block,  and  the  length  of  the  anchor  should  be  so 
measured  as  to  extend  entirely  through  the  wall,  the  other  end  turn- 
ing up  close  against  the  inner  face. 

As  these  ties  would  be  soon  destroyed  by 
rust  if  used  in  their  natural  state,  they  must 
be  protected  by  tarring  or  galvanizing.  The 
latter  is  most  expensive,  and  perhaps  best, 
but  the  former  is  generally  employed. 

In  setting  the  first  course  of  stone  above 
ground,  it  is  advantageous  to  have  it  over- 
hang the  foundation-wall  about  an  inch: 
then  the  rain-water,  which  flows  in  sheets 
down  the  exposed  surface  during  storms, 
when  it  reaches  this  point  drips  off,  and  is 
absorbed  by  the  ground,  instead  cf  continu- 
ing its  journey  down  the  face  of  the  founda- 
tion-wall. (Fig.  40.)  Of  course,  this  must 
be  arranged  for  in  making  the  detail  draw- 
ings if  it  is  to  be  done  systematically.  At  all  events,  the  construc- 
tion sometimes  seen,  where  the  base  course  is  set  back  from  the  face 
of  the  foundation,  leaving  a  narrow  level  strip  on  top  of  it,  should 


Yi 


t 

Fig.  40. 


64 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


not  be  countenanced.  Such  a  shelf  serves  only  to  catch  the  water 
streaming  down  from  above  and  conduct  it  into  the  masonry,  and  it 
the  plans  require  such  a  relative  position  of  the  foundation  and  super- 
structure, the  former  should  terminate  by-'a"  surface  sloping  back  to 
the  line  of  the  wall  above  it. 

In  supervising  the  facing  work,  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  ap- 
pearance. With  random  ashlar,  much  of  the  beauty  depends  upon 
the  frequency  with  which  the  horizontal  joints  are 
broken.  It  is  common  to  specify  for  such  work  that 
no  horizontal  joint  shall  extend  more  than  six  feet, 
and  this  is  a  good  rule  to  follow  in  all  cases.  The  difference  be- 
tween a  neat  and  slovenly  walling  is  illustrated  by  Fig.  41,  a  and  b. 


xL 


— i,  u. 


\-rv- 


-MJ 

Fig.  41  a.  Fig.  41  b. 

In  b  the  effect  is  injured  not  only  by  the  long  horizontal  joints,  but 
by  the  frequent  occurrence  of  small  stones,  as  at  X,  Y,  Z,  inserted  to 
rill  awkward  vacancies. 

The  work  now  goes  on  without  intermission  until  the  granite-faced 
wall  is  ready  to  receive  the  water-table  or  bevelled  course  which  ter- 
minates it.  (Fig.  42.)  This,  like  all  horizontal  string-courses,  par- 
ticularly if  projecting,  should  be  composed  of  long  stones,  running 
back  as  far  into  the  wall  as  practicable.  They  are  often  specified  to 
have  the  top  bed  not  less  than  eight  inches  in  the  wall,  and  this  is  a 


Fig.  42.  Fig.  43. 

good  standard,  though  narrow  string-courses  near  the  top  of  the  wall 
may  perhaps  have  an  inch  or  two  less.     Care  is  necessary  to  ascer- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


65 


tain  the  exact  level  some  time  before  the  wall  has  reached  the  re- 
quired point,  and  it  is  best  to  build  up  all  the  corners  of  the  building 
to  the  line  in  advance  of  the  rest,  and  set  the  corner-stones  of  the 
water-table,  levelling  them  carefully  with  an  engineer's  instrument, 
afterwards  bringing  the  intermediate  por- 

tions up  to  the 

line.    This  will 

prevent  an  ap- 

pearance    like 

this   (Fig.   43) 

caused   by  the 

attempt  to  re- 

gain a  true  lev- 

el  after  the  wall 


-  44. 


pig.  45. 


has  been  carried  up  nearly  to  the  top. 

The  quoins,  or  corner  blocks  of  the  water-table,  as  indeed  of  all  tne 
stone-work,  must  always,  for  appearance  sake,  show  a  wide  head  on 
both  sides  the  angle  (Fig.  44),  instead  of  being  cut  out  of  a  stone  of 
the  same  thickness  as  the  rest  (Fig.  45). 

The  water-table  indicates  the  level  of  the  main  floor,  and  while 
preparations  are  making  for  laying  it,  the  beams  may  be  placed  in 
position.     Stock  for  these  has  been  delivered  at  intervals  previously, 
and  carefully  examined,  several  loads  having  been  re- 
jected for  containing  timbers  considerably  less  in  size 
(since  the  timber  shrinks  after  sawing)  than  the  speci- 
fication calls  for,  while  others  have  been  thrown  out  on  account  of 

pieces  badly  "  shaken  " 
(Fig.  46);  or  "  waney  " 
(Fig.  47),  through  having 
been  sawed  too  near  the 
outside  of  a  crooked  piece, 
so  that  a  part  of  the  wood 
is  lacking ;  or  weakened 
by  large  knots  near  the 
H  middle  of  the  span.  The 
Figs.  46,  47.  nave  and  chancel  floor 


beams  are  divided  into  two  spans,  the  inner  ends  of  each  span 
carried  on  a  line  of  girders  running  through  the  middle  of  the  build- 


66  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ing,  and  supported  by  brick  piers  under  the  nave,  and  an  iron  coluraL 
in  the  society-room  under  the  chancel.  The  girders  of  main  floor 
are  of  Georgia  pine,  eight  inches  by  ten,  those  in  chancel  being  eight 
by  twelve,  and  all  are  already  on  the^-'ground.  It  is  necessary  to 
have  these  properly  set  before  the  beams  can  be  put  in  position ;  but 
if  the  piers  were  to  be  built  up  first,  and  the  heavy  timbers  laid  upon 
them,  there  would  be  danger  of  overturning  'or  displacing  them,  so 
it  is  best  to  support  the  girders  by  temporary  wooden  shores  until 
the  floor  is  on,  and  afterwards  build  up  the  piers  between  the  shores. 
As  there  is  ample  head-room  in  the  cellar,  the  beams  are  simply 
notched  upon  the  girders,  instead  of  framing  them  in,  and  thereby 
weakening  the  girders  with  mortises. 

The  carpenters  are  already  cutting  the  notches,  and  the  foreman 
hastens  after  us  to  ask  whether  he  shall  "  crown  "  the  beams,  and  if 
so,  how  much.  Nothing  is  said  about  it  in  the  specifications,  and  a 
„  M  little  reflection  is  necessary  before  a  reply  can  be  given. 

The  crowning,  as  now  usually  practised,  consists  in 
trimming  off  with  an  adze  the  upper  edge  of  the  beams,  so  as  to  form 
a  curve,  the  convexity  of  which  may  be  one  inch  or  more,  as  required. 
(Fig.  48.)  Nothing  is  taken  off  the  middle  of  the  timber,  so  its 
strength  to  resist  a  distributed  weight  is  not  impaired,  and  as  all  or- 
dinary beams  sag  a  little  under  their  own  weight,  and  still  more  when 

— _,-._^L — _       loaded  with  flooring 

(        , _p      and  plaster,  the  crown- 
ing enables  this  sag- 

j: — -f     ging  to  be  compensat- 

L, |j  ed,  and  such  a  beam, 

Figs.  48,  49.  when  suspended  at  the 

ends,  will  be  level  or 
slightly  convex  on  top, 
the  bending  due  to  the 

50-  weight  showing  itself 

oc  the  under  side.  (Fig.  49.)  Formerly  the  same  effect  was  sought 
by  shoring  up  the  beams  strongly  in  the  centre,  so  as  to  bend 
them  upward,  and  then  either  building  them  into  the  walls,  or  con- 
fining them  by  timbers  placed  against  their  ends,  and  connected  by 
iron  tie-rods  passing  between  the  beams  (Fig.  50),  bat  this  method 
is  objectionable,  and  is  now  rarely  used. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  67 

In  order  to  determine  whether  crowning  by  the  other  mode  is  de- 
sirable, we  can  easily  calculate  the  probable  bending  of  the  timbers, 
or,  what  will  be  still  better,  experiment  on  the  spot,  by  placing  one 
of  the  beams,  the  top  of  which  has  been  previously  ascertained  to  be 
straight  and  true,  on  supports  at  the  proper  distance  apart,  and  load- 
ing it  at  the  middle  with  a  weight  equal  to  half  the  load  which  will 
come  upon  it  after  the  building  is  completed.  In  this  case  the  beams 
of  the  main  floor  are  of  spruce,  three  inches  by  ten,  and  of  chancel 
floor  three  by  twelve,  all  placed  sixteen  inches  from  centres,  and 
twenty  feet  long,  the  clear  span  being  nineteen  feet  four  inches. 
They  will  be  plastered  one  heavy  coat  underneath,  and  covered  with 
a  double  boarding.  Each  beam  carries  the  whole  weight  of  the  floor- 
ing above  it  and  the  plastering  below  it,  from  the  central  line  of  the 
interval  between  itself  and  the  next  beam  on  one  side  to  the  corre- 
sponding line  on  the  other  side,  the  distance  between  these  two  lines 
being  the  same  as  that  between  the  centres  of  the  beams  themselves, 
or  sixteen  inches.  Each  beam  will  then  sustain,  independent  of  its 
own  weight,  an  area  of  flooring  16  inches  wide  and  20  feet  long, 
and  an  equal  area  of  plastering,  amounting  to  16  inches  (l£  feet) 
x  20  =  26  §  square  feet  of  each.  One  square  foot  of  dry  pine  board 
an  inch  thick  weighs  about  three  pounds,  and  as  the  boarding  is 
double,  six  pounds  will  represent  the  weight  of  flooring  per  square 
foot.  Plastering  of  the  kind  mentioned  will  weigh  about  six  pounds 
per  square  foot,  making  a  total  load  per  foot  of  12  pounds,  which 
multiplied  by  26§  will  give  320  pounds  as  the  distributed  load  on  the 
beam,  exclusive  of  its  own  weight.  One-half  of  this,  or  160  pounds, 
applied  at  the  centre  will  produce  the  same  effect  as  the  whole  dis- 
tributed load,  and  by  loading  our  experimental  beam  in  this  way  the 
amount  of  bending  can  be  at  once  ascertained.  A  bucket  hung  over 
the  middle  of  the  beam,  and  loaded  with  thirty-five  to  forty  bricks 
according  to  size,  or  with  a  man  standing  in  it,  will  form  a  ready 
means  of  applying  the  weight,  and  a  string  tightly  stretched  between 
the  ends  of  the  beam  will  show  the  deflection,  which  we  find  in  this 
case  to  be  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  So  slight  a  deflection  is 
not  worth  the  trouble  of  correcting  by  crowning  the  beams,  especially 
as  the  bridging  of  the  floor,  which  is  required  by  the  specification, 
affords  protection  against  unequal  deflection ;  and  we  therefore  in« 
form  the  foreman  that  it  will  not  be  required.  The  tops  of  the  beams 


68 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


must,  however,  be  well  levelled;  and  as  they  are  likely  to  vary  some- 
what in  depth,  the  gauge  for  notching  them  to  fit  upon  the  girder 
nust  be  taken  from  the  lop^  not  from  the  bottom  edge.  The  ends 
which  rest  on  the  walls  need  not  be  notched,  but  are  "  pinned  up  '* 
with  chips  of  stone  or  slate  to  the  required  height.  Wooden  chips 
must  never  be  used  for  this  purpose,  as  they  soon  rot  out,  and  allow 
the  beam  to  settle. 

Concerning  the  manner  in  which  the  beams  should  be  built  into 

the  wall,  there  is  much  diversity  both  of  opinion  and  practice.     On 

one  point,  however,  all  are   agreed;    that   the   ends 

^nds'of5     slloul(1  be  cufc  on  a  kevel,  tllus  (FiS-  51)>  tlie  variation 
Beams.      of  the  inclined  line  from  the  vertical  being  two  to  four 
inches,  according  to  the  depth  of  the  beam.     The  ob- 
ject of  this  is  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the  wall,  in  case  of  fire, 
by  the  fall  of  the  floor  when  burnt  through.    If  the  beams  are  bevelled 


Fig.  51.  Fig.  52. 

as  shown,  they  drop  out  quietly  when  their  outer  ends  are  consumed ; 
but  if  left  square,  the  portion  in  the  wall  acts  as  the  short  arm  of  a 
powerful  lever,  whose  outer  end,  being  depressed  as  the  floor  falls, 
pries  the  wall  outward  with  immense  force.  (Fig.  52.)  But  besides 
this,  precaution  should  be  taken  lest  the  ends  of  the  beams  absorb 
moisture  from  the  foundation  and  perish  by  dry-rot.  The  most  im- 
portant security  against  this  is  the  avoidance  of  dampness  in  the  cel- 
lar and  its  walls  07  the  precautions  suggested  above,  without  which 
the  otb^r  expedients  avail  little.  If  reasonable  dryness  is  maintained 
ab'vit  them,  sufficient  further  protection  can  be  obtained  by  leaving  a 
small  open  space  about  the  ends  of  the  timbers  for  circulation  of  air. 
Some  simply  build  up  vertically  behind  the  ends  of  the  beams,  filling 
in  solidly  between  them,  aid  trusting  to  the  subsequent  shrinkage  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  69 

the  wood  to  open  a  slight  but  sufficient  communication  between  the 
triangular  hollow  behind  the  timber  and  the  air  of  the 
cellar.    Others  increase  this  communication  by  tacking    Protection 
a  piece  of  zinn  or  felt  paper  over  the  end  of  the  beam, 


letting  it  hang  down  at  the  sides,  so  as  to  keep  the 
masonry  at  a  small  distance  from  the  wood.  Still  more  careful 
constructors  build  up  a  recess  around  each  timber,  leaving  it  free 
on  all  sides,  but  with  a  dry  foundation  of  hard  stone,  laid  in  half 
cement,  and  the  floor  two  feet  or  more  above  the  ground,  so  great 
precaution  is  unnecessary  except  for  heavy  girders.  In  the  present 
case,  being  very  confident  of  the  dryness  of  our  wall,  we  will  com- 
promise by  filling  in  closely  between  the  beams  with  the  stone-work, 
but  will  leave  a  space  behind  them,  and  will  span  the  end  of  each 
beam  by  a  stone  or  a  couple  of  bricks,  so  as  to  open  a  communication 
above  the  beam  between  the  interior  space  and  the  air. 

When  the  first  tier  of  beams  has  been  laid  and  the  ends  built  up 
with  masonry,  the  work  of  the  superstructure  may  properly  be  said 
to  begin,  and  a  variety  of  new  cares  will  come  upon 

us.     Here  also  commences  a  considerable  divergence       ®uper" 

structure* 
between  the  practice  of  different  localities  in  respect 

to  many  details  of  construction.     In  the  Eastern  States,  and  to  an 

increasing  extent  in  others,  the  next  step  after  laying  the  first-floor 

beams,  and  bringing  the  walls  up  to  a  level  with  them,  is  to  cover  the 

whole  floor  with  cheap  inch  boards  of  hemlock  or  spruce,  generally 

"  thicknessed,"  —  that  is,  planed  on  one  side  so  as  to 

reduce  them  to  a  uniform  thickness,  and  firmly  nailed       Floors. 

down  in  place.     This  furnishes  a  convenient  starting- 

point  for  future  operations  ;  materials  are  stored  upon  it,  the  roof  is 

framed  upon  it,  stagings  are  erected  on  it,  and  the  men  move  freely 

over  it. 

Whenever  it  becomes  necessary  to  reach  the  space  between  the 
beams,  for  nailing  bridging,  running  gas-pipes,  or  other  purposes,  a 
board  is  easily  taken  up  and  replaced  again,  and  at  the  very  end  of 
the  work  the  whole  is  brushed  clean,  the  holes  and  broken  places  re- 
paired, and  an  upper  flooring  of  new,  clean,  fresh  boards  put  down 
over  it,  one  or  two  thicknesses  of  soft  felt  being  laid  between,  making 
a  strong,  handsome,  impervious  floor.  Among  the  old-fashioned 
builders  in  New  York  and  other  places  this  method  is  thought  unrea 


70  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

sonably  costly,  and  a  single  flooring  only  is  used,  generally  of  one 
and  a  quarter  inch  boards,  the  laying  of  which,  of  course,  in  order  to 
preserve  them  from  injury,  is  delayed  as  long  as  possible,  all  the 
operations  of  building  being  meanwhile  carried  on  over  a  skeleton  of 
beams,  traversed  in  different  directions  by  lines  of  planks  which  have 
continually  to  be  taken  up  and  changed,  while  supplementary  planks 
must  be  brought  and  laid  down  to  hold  all  the  material  used  in  each 
story,  and  if  a  tool  is  dropped,  or  a  bolt  or  anchor-iron  rolls  from  its 
place,  it  descends  to  the  cellar,  where  the  workman  must  go  to  find  it, 
or  let  it  be  altogether  lost.  To  one  familiar  with  both  systems,  the 
latter  seems  to  involve  a  great  waste  of  time  and  labor,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  the  best  builders  is  that  the  double  flooring,  though  costing 
more  for  material,  is  so  much  more  economical  in  these  respects  as  to 
save  more  than  its  extra  cost  in  the  completed  building. 

We  find  this  construction  specified  for  the  structure  under  our 
charge,  and  in  less  than  a  day  after  the  beams  are  on  and  levelled, 
they  are  covered  with  a  smooth,  firm  floor,  which  can  be  put  down 
with  extreme  rapidity,  being  laid  without  much  attempt  at  unneces- 
sary neatness.  The  boards,  being  of  hemlock,  are  full  of  shakes ; 
some  are  cracked  in  a  dozen  places,  while  in  others  the  annual 
rings  have  separated,  and  can  be  peeled  off  by  layers.  Some  hem- 
lock lumber  is  much  better  than  this,  but  there  is  no  need  of  being 
very  particular.  As  soon  as  convenient  after  laying  the  floor,  the 
boards  are  taken  up  in  a  line  through  ihe  places  marked  for  bridging 
the  beams.  There  are  to  be  two  rows  of  bridging  in 
each  span,  but  the  kind  is  not  specified.  Occasionally 
a  builder  is  found  who  im- 
agines that  a  floor  can  be 
bridged  by  fitting  in  square 
bits  of  plank  between  the 
beams  and  nailing  them  in 
place ;  a  device  as  costly  as 
it  is  perfectly  useless,  the 
planks  answering  no  pur- 
pose whatever  except  to 
burden  the  floor.  The  Flg>  53t 

proper  way  is  to  fit  in  strips  diagonally  between  the  beams,  of  suf- 
ficient length  to  reach  from  the  upper  edge  of  one  to  the  lower  edge 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  71 

of  the  next,  nailing  them  firmly  in  place  with  two  large  nails  at  each 
end  (Fig.  53). 

A  double  row  is  necessary,  so  arranged  as  to  abut  in  pairs  against 
the  upper  and  under  sides  of  each  beam,  and  the  effect,  if  arranged 
as  they  should  be,  in  lines  made  perfectly  straight,  marking  the  posi- 
tion of  each  piece  by  a  chalk-line  on  the  edges  of  the  timbers,  is  to 
connect  the  beams  together  by 
a   kind    of    truss    (Fig.   54); 
which  prevents  any  one  from 
bending  downward  without 
carrying  down  with  it  a  num- 
ber of  others,  greater  or  less  according  to  the  perfection  of  the  work- 
manship, but  ordinarily  about  ten.    Nothing  is  added  to  the  absolute 
strength  of  the  whole  floor,  but  any  single  overloaded  beam  is  enabled 
to  divide  its  burden  with  six  or  eight  of  its  neighbors,  which  is  a  great 
gain.     The  bridging  in  important  buildings  is  usually  specified  to  be 
of  two-inch  by  four-inch  pieces,  and  such  may  sometimes  be  necessary ; 
but  for  ordinary  dwelling-house  beams,  not  more  than  sixteen  inchea 
from  centres,  strips  one  inch  or  one  and  a  quarter  inches  thick  and 
four  inches  wide  will,  if  well  fitted  and  nailed,  prove  quite  sufficient. 

The  ends  of  the  beams  which  rest  on  the  girders  should  be  nailed 
in  place,  and  in  addition  "dogs"  of  round  bar-iron  three-fourths 

inch  in  diameter  and  about  eighteen  inches  long,  turned 

i  i         i        i  t    i  •        i  •   «.  1-1   Ty|nS  Beams. 

down  at  each  end  and  fashioned  into  a  rough,  chisel- 
like  point  (Fig.  55),  should  be  driven  into  the  abutting  ends  of  two 
opposite  beams,  at  intervals  of  about  eight  feet,  the  whole  length  of 
Ihe  building,  so  as  to  connect  the  beams  strongly  together  ;  and  wall 

anchors  of  flat  bar-iron, 

i    ic    •     i     *i  •    i     Wall  Anchors. 
one-half    inch    thick, 

•  and  at  least  one  and  a  fourth  inches 
wide,  not  less  than  four  feet  long,  and 
turned  up  four  inches  at  the  end,  should 
be  spiked,  by  means  of  holes  punched 
for  the  purpose,  to  the  sides  of  the 
Fig.  55.  '  same  beams  that  are  tied  at  their  other 

ends  to  the  beams  beyond,  leaving  the  turned-up  end  to  be  built  into 
the  masonry  of  the  wall  above  the  water-table.  This  end  is  often  split 
into  a  fork  and  each  branch  turned  up,  much  improving  its  hold,  and 


72  Bi:iLDiNG    SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  inner  end  is  sometimes  turned  down  and  driven  into  tlu  beam, 
without  being  spiked  to  it.  These  different  anchorages  form  a  con- 
tinuous tie  from  wall  to  wall,  and  although  not  fur  from  the  ground 
will  assist  materially  in  keeping  the  luiisoLry  upright. 

Other  anchors  mus'  be  provided,  for  tying  the  angles  of  the  build- 
ing in  the  superstructure.  These  should  be  of  iron  similar  in  thick- 
ness and  width  to  those  just  described,  turned  up  at  one  end  and 
down  at  the  other,  and  from  four  to  six  feet  long.  They  should  be 
laid  alternately  in  each  of  the  walls  forming  the  angle,  and  at  inter- 
vals of  from  four  to  eight  feet  in  height,  according  to  the  amount  of 
bond  obtained  by  the  stones  alone.  Young  architects  are  often  sur- 
prised to  find  that  so  much  iron  is  needed  in  masonry,  which  they 
imagine  by  the  descriptions  given  in  their  text-books  to  be  quite 
capable,  when  well  bonded,  of  holding  itself  together  without  such 
aid;  but  our  ordinary  structure  of  thin  ashlar  facing,  backed  with 
incoherent  rubble  of  small  stones,  is  a  very  different  matter  from  the 
combination  of  squared  blocks  to  which  the  books  refer. 

Still  another  set  of  anchors  must  be  built  into  certain  portions  of 
the  walls  as  they  progress,  to  hold  the  brick  lining  which  is  subse- 
quently to  be  built  up  inside.  A  part  of  these  are  to 

low  Walls.  ^0  used  in  the  society-room  under  the  chancel,  and 
others  in  the  vestibule  which  forms  the  first  story  of 
the  tower.  The  former  of  these  lining  walls  is  to  be  plastered,  but 
not  the  latter,  and  the  anchors  needed  will  differ  a  little  in  conse- 
quence ;  those  for  the  plastered  wall  being  arranged  to  project  i-n- 
tirely  through  the  lining,  turning  up  two  inches  on  the  inner  side, 
while  the  others  must  stop  just  behind  the  inner  face,  so  as  to  lie 
concealed  in  the  joint.  They  should  be  made  of  iron  not  less  than 
one-sixteenth  inch  in  thickness  and  one  inch  wide,  tarred  or  gal- 
vanized, turned  up  at  the  end  in  the  outside  wall,  and  extending  half- 
way through  it.  They  are  to  be  built  into  the  outside  wall  at  inter- 
vals of  two  feet  both  horizontally  and  vertically,  setting  them  care- 
fully to  the  proper  length  by  measuring  from  the  outside,  and  left 
projecting  until  the  time  conies  for  building  the  lining  wall,  when 
they  will  be  found  all  ready  at  the  proper  place.  Various  forms  are 
given  to  these  ties,  all  intended  to  prevent  condensed  moisture,  or 
water  driven  through  the  outer  wall,  from  being  conducted  by  them 
across  the  air-space  into  the  lining  wall,  where  it  would  show  i 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  73 

by  a  permanent  spot  in  the  plastering.  The  part  which  crosses  the 
air-space  is  often  bent  downward  into  a  V-shape,  from  which  the 
water  drips  to  the  bottom  of  the  cavity,  and  this,  if  the  depression 
is  deep  enough,  is  moderately  effectual,  but  if  too  shallow,  the  mor- 
tar falling  from  above  collects  on  the  ties  in  quantity  sufficient  to 
bridge  the  air-space  in  some  places,  and  convey  water  through  to  the 
lining.  Another  form  is  made  by  twisting  the  ties  so  that  the  por- 
tion in  the  air-space  is  vertical,  and  collects  neither  mortar  nor  water. 
The  iron  is  sometimes  used  without  twisting,  but  set  in  the  vertical 
joints,  thus  attaining  the  same  result  at  less  expense,  but  with  greater 
trouble ;  since  the  irons,  being  set  at  random  in  the  wall,  never  coin- 
cide exactly  with  the  joints  of  the  brickwork,  and  have  to  be  bent 
more  or  le^>s  to  reach  one.  A\rhen  inserted  in  the  horizontal  joints, 
little  bending  is  necessary,  hardly  more  than  an  inch  in  any  case; 
but  when  placed  in  the  vertical  joints,  the  lining  wall  being  composed 
entirely  of  stretchers,  a  lateral  movement  of  four  inches  may  often 
be  required.  On  the  whole,  the  V-bent  ties  seem  to  be  most  suitable 
in  our  case,  but  we  direct  that  they  shall  be  placed  vertically  one 
above  another,  so  that  those  above  may  shelter  those  below  from  fall- 
ing mortar,  and  that  in  building  the  lining  every  row  shall  be  cleaned 
off  as  soon  as  the  one  above  it  is  fixed  in  place. 

While  these  matters  are  being  settled,  the  delivery  of  freestone, 
both  cut  into  ashlar  for  the  facing  and  in  rough  blocks  for  working 
into  mouldings  and  arch-stones,  has  been  going  on.  This  should  be 

attentively  watched,  and  if  possible  a  visit  should  be 

•     ,  ,.~  ,     i       e     Freestone. 

made  to  the  quarry  to  inspect  the  different  beds  of 

rock.  There  is  usually  much  variation  in  the  quality  of  stone  from 
the  same  quarry,  one  end  frequently  running  into  extreme  hardness, 
while  the  other  is  too  soft  for  use,  or  superposed  strata  may  show  dif- 
ferent properties.  Variations  in  color  usually  accompany  differences 
of  texture,  and  each  different  tint  of  stone  on  the  ground  should  be 
tested  by  chipping  off  a  thin  piece,  and  crumbling  the  edge  in  the 
fingers.  The  hardest  sandstone  will  resist  this  treatment  like  flint, 
but  most  building  stones  crumble  slightly  at  the  very  edge,  while  the 
poorer  varieties  crush  easily.  Few  of  the  ordinary  freestones  show 
a  much  greater  hardness  than  common  loaf  sugar,  but  those  that  are 
softer  should  be  rejected. 

Some  kinds  of  stone  have  an  extremely  annoying  defect  in  the 


74  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

shape  of  "  sand-holes,"  which  are  small  formations  in  the  interior  of 
the  block,  often  similar  in  appearance  to  the  rest  of  the  stone,  but 

destitute  of  cementing  matter,  so  that  on  being  ex- 
Sand-Holes.  .  ? 

posed  by  cutting,  the  sapd  falls  out,  leaving  an  un- 
sightly hole,  which  cannot  be  successfully  concealed  by  filling  with 
cement.  Any  variety  of  stone  which  proves  to  be  affected  in  this 
way  should  therefore  be  entirely  rejected,  as  sand-holes  may  exist  in 
any  of  the  blocks,  undiscovered  until  the  stone  is  cut.  Some  stones 
contain  similar  cavities  filled  with  clay,  which  are  equally  pernicious. 

Seams  injure  the  quality  of  many  classes  of  freestone,  but  are 
usually  more  easily  detected  than  those  in  granite.  All  sandstone  is 
stratified,  the  beds  varying  from  ten  feet  to  a  small 
fraction  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  the  divisions  be- 
tween the  strata  show  themselves  as  dark  streaks  on  the  edge  of  the 
stone.  Where  the  beds,  though  distinct,  are  strongly  cemented  to- 
gether, the  stratification  rather  improves  the  quality  of  the  material 
by  the  beautifully  figured  appearance  which  it  gives  to  a  smoothly- 
rubbed  surface,  as  in  the  stone  from  Portland,  Connecticut,  but  the 
seams  are  not  always  tight,  or  if  they  are,  may  not  remain  so,  and 
the  stone  scales  or  "  shells  "  away,  so  that  bloclis,  especially  large 
ones,  of  stratified  rock  should  be  "  sounded  "  all  over  with  a  ham- 
mer before  setting  in  the  building,  to  detect  any  separation  between 
the  interior  surfaces. 

The  stone-cutting  shed  will  now  become  a  point  of  special  interest 
at  each  visit,  since  here  will  be  carried  into  execution  the  ornamoncal 
details  of  the  building,  whose  accuracy  and  perfection  of  workman- 
ship will  do  much  to  enhance  its  beauty. 

Among  the  first  things  done  in  the  cutting-shed  are  the  jamb- 
stones  for  the  windows.  The  sills  are  to  be  slip-sills;  that  is,  in- 
serted between  the  jambs  at  some  subsequent  period,  and  the  detailed 
sections  of  them  are  not  yet  at  hand,  but  a  number  of  jamb-stones 

are  cut.  We  have  taken  care  to  make  ourselves  per- 
Jamb-Stones.  ,  ,  ,  •  ... 

fectly  familiar,  not  only  with  the  position,  height  above 

the  floor,  and  exact  dimensions  of  every  window,  but  also  with  the 
depth  of  the  various  reveals ;  and  we  begin  at  once  to  measure  the 
smaller  stones  to  see  if  they  are  of  the  required  depth,  finding  imme- 
diately that  many  fall  short  an  inch  or  more.  These  must  be  marked 
and  laid  aside,  to  be  recut  for  other  purposes,  making  sure  that  the/ 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  75 

are  not  likely  to  be  put  into  the  wall,  for  the  replacing  of  an  unsatis- 
factory quoin  is  a  disagreeable  matter,  and  it  is  still  worse  to  leave 
it  in  and  endeavor  to  fill  out  the  deficiency  by  patching. 

The  other  details  should  be  sharply  looked  to ;  sketches  made  to 
explain  obscure  drawings ;  the  moulded  work  frequently  compared 
with  the  zinc  patterns  or  templets,  and  these  with  the  sectional 
drawings ;  the  carving  criticised,  and  the  straight-edge  and  square 
frequent'y  applied  to  the  work  of  men  who  seem  unskilful  or  neg- 
ligent. 

The  regular  routine  of  a  tour  around  the  outside  of  the  building, 
followed  by  one  inside,  and  an  examination  of  the  new  materials, 
first  inside  and  then  outside,  should  still  be  kept  up,  but  the  inspec- 
tion should  take  place  at  the  level  of  the  staging  where  the  men  are 
at  work.  The  steel  rod  may  occasionally  be  used  to  examine  the 
workmanship  of  new  men,  and  a  continual  watch  must  be  kept  to  see 
that  the  ashlar  is  properly  and  sufficiently  anchored  to  the  backing, 
and  that  all  exposed  angles  or  projecting  parts  of  the  stone-work,  as 
corners  of  openings,  string-courses,  sills  and  cornices,  are  well  cov. 
ered  up  with  boards,  to  protect  them  from  accidental  blows,  and 
from  falling  objects. 

Before  the  walls  reach  the  top,  it  is  necessary,  whether  the  specifi- 
cations mention  it  or  not,  to  build  in  long  bolts  at  every  angle,  and 
at  intervals  of  about  ten  feet  along  the  walls,  to  hold 
the  wooden  wall-plate.   The  bolts  should  be  of  one-mcn*^0,^ the 
round  iron,  three  or  four  feet  long,  with  a  short  plate 
at  the  lower  end  to  give  them  secure  hold,  built  in  vertically,  so  that 
the  upper  end,  threaded  for  a  nut,  may  project  an  inch  at  least  above 
the  top  of  the  wall-plate  when  laid.     In  setting  this,  holes  arc  bored 
for  the  bolts,  and  nuts  with  large  washers  are  put  on  and  screwed 
down  firmly. 

The  setting  of  the  cornice  and  coping  stones  must  be  watched  anx- 
iously.    It  is  customary  to  specify  that  all  cornice  or  other  projecting 
stones  shall  balance  on  the  wall,  or  in  other  words, 
that  the  weight  of  the  portion  of  the  stone  on  the  wall      Atones." 
shall  exceed  that  of  the  projecting  part,  by  one-fourth, 
one-half,  or  more,  as  the  case  may  be.     Whether  specified  or  not,  a 
considerable  excess  of  weight  on  the  wall  is  necessary  to  a  good  job 
of  stone-work.    Heavy  cornice-stones  are  often  seen,  where  the  vigi? 


•  6  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

lance  of  an  inspector  is  wanting,  which  would  fall  immediately  into 
the  street  if  they  were  not  held  back  by  thin  iron  straps  to  the  tim- 
bers of  the  roof,  and  do  so  fall  when  the  straps  rust,  or  the  timbers 
are  burnt  away. 

Copings  must  also  be  strongly  secured  against  sliding  off.     The 
"  kneelers  "  or  corbels  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  which  ostensibly  sup- 
port them,  are  seldom  so  designed  as  to  be  capable  of 
anything  more  than  holding  themselves  in  place,  and 
usually  require  even  for  that  to  be  anchored  back  to  the  masonry, 
so  that  the  coping-stones  must  be  held  by  irons  at  the  foot  of  each. 
Finials  also,  which  commonly  decorate  the  peaks  of  gables,  are  not 
secure  unless  do  welled  to  the  adjacent  stones,  and  if 
composed  of  several  pieces  should  be  drilled  completely 
through,  and  strung  upon  a  long  iron  rod  previously  built  into  the 
masonry,  with  nut  and  washer  at  the  top  to  hold  the  joints  firmly 
together. 

The  young  superintendent  will  hardly  see  the  finials  placed  on  his 
building  without  having  undergone  several  conflicts  with  the  con- 
tractor  as  to  the  stones  which  are  to  be  permitted  in 
stones.      ^ie  work-     He  may  find  his  orders  about  seams  and 
sand-holes  cheerfully  complied  with,  but  stones  acci" 
dentally  broken  after  cutting  will  be  used  wherever  they  can  escape 
his  eye ;  the  fractured  portions,  if  conspicuous,  being  neatly  cut  out, 
and  a  new  piece  inserted  and  glued  in  with  molted  shellac.     In  dry 
weather,  and  while  still  fresh  from  the  tool,  such  patches  are  hardly 
noticeable  unless  near  the  eye,  and  they  should  therefore  be  looked 
for  from  the  stagings  before  these  are  shifted ;  but  when  the  stone 
is  wet  by  rain,  the  inserted  piece  becomes  painfully  conspicuous,  and 
as  the  shellac  is  slowly  destroyed  between  the  stones,  the  joint  be- 
comes more  and  more  evident,  and  the  piece  may  even  drop  out  if 
situated,  as  sometimes  occurs,  on  the  under  side  of  a  lintel. 

Both  firmness  and  consideration  are  necessary  in  dealing  with  these 
cases.  While  a  patched  jamb-stone,  sill  or  lintel,  unless  of  extraor- 
dinary size,  is  inexcusable,  it  would  be  harsh  to  condemn  a  piece  of 
rich  and  costly  carving  for  a  small  mutilation  which  could  be  easily 
concealed;  and  some  fractures  may  occur  after  the  stone-work  is 
completed  which  can  only  be  repaired  by  patching  in  this  way.  The 
walls  are  by  this  time  ready  for  the  roof,  and  the  tower  has 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  U 

been  carried  up  to  the  same  height.   The  contractor,  anxious  to  save 
all  the  time  possible,  is   still  at  work  on  this,  although  the   sea- 
son is  getting  late,  and  the  nights  frosty.     One  un- 
usually cold  morning  we  arrive  on  the  ground,  and   in  Freezing 
find  the  mortar  left  over  from  the  previous  evening     Weather. 
frozen  hard  in  the  tubs.     Trying  one  of  tho  small  stones  in  the  back- 
ing  laid  the  day  before,  we  find  that  instead  of  adhering  to  the  mor- 
tar, and  bringing  away  some  lumps  clinging  to  it,  the  stone  separates 
easily,  and  comes  away  clean,  while  its  surface,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
mortar  in  which  it  lay,  is  covered  with  hoar  frost. 

This  is  a  plain  indication  that  the  mason-work  must  be  suspended 
until  the  settled  warm  weather  of  spring.  The  film  of  frost  which 
penetrates  in  cold  weather  between  the  mortar  and  the  stones  forms 
a  complete  separation,  and  adherence  does  not  take  place  again  after 
the  ice  is  thawed,  while  the  mortar  is  itself  also  more  or  less  disin- 
tegrated by  freezing.  Mortar  of  pure  lime,  if  frozen  in  the  tubs, 
may  be  warmed  and  worked  over  so  as  to  be  used,  but  cement,  if  its 
first  set  is  once  broken  up,  either  by  freezing  or  by  unnecessary  stir- 
ring, will  never  harden  again. 

The  foreman,  mindful  of  his  master's  interests,  resists  the  order  to 
cover  up  the  walls,  relating  anecdotes  of  structures  built  without 
harm  in  the  midst  of  terrible  frosts,  and  urging  at  great  length  the 
well-known  superiority  of  a  "  frozen  set"  over  all  others;  but  he 

should  be  overruled.     If  any  error  is  committed,  it 

,       . ,       .       .  Frozen  Set. 

should  be  on  the  side  of  safety.  It  is  true  that  plas- 
tering, of  pure  lime  only,  if  frozen  at  the  beginning  of  the  season, 
and  kept  constantly  frozen  for  some  months,  acquires  at  the  end  of 
that  time  a  considerable  hardness,  which  is  not  lost  on  thawing ; 
while  if  thawed  within  a  few  days  or  weeks  after  freezing,  it  disin- 
tegrates and  crumbles ;  but  in  this  there  is  no  question  of  the  sepa- 
ration between  the  stones  or  bricks  and  the  mortar  of  a  piece  of  ma- 
sonry, which  takes  place  without  regard  to  the  duration  of  the 
freezing,  and  constitutes  the  chief  danger,  and  moreover  a  "  frozen 
set "  is  impossible  with  mortar  containing  cement  or  hydraulic  limo. 
The  tower  walls  are  therefore  covered  with  a  roof  of  board-j,  and 
the  masons  sent  to  cut  stone  for  the  spire,  or  employed  in  building 
the  basement  piers,  and  as  soon  as  the  main  roof  is  on,  the  lining  walls 
in  the  society-room  and  vestibule. 


78  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  design  for  roof  trusses  should  have  been  anxiously  criticised 
by  the  superintendent,  in  order  to  detect  and  remedy 
the  weaknesses,  if  any  exist,  before  they  cause  loss 
and  discredit  through  the  failure  of  ;fhe  executed  structure. 

If  all  is  found  satisfactory,  the  details  are  committed  to  the  framer, 
who  will  probably  need  and  ask  for  advice  concerning  the  various 
joints,  tenons,  bolts  and  straps,  so  that  the  young  architect  will  do 
well  to  refresh  his  knowledge  on  these  points  both  from.his  text- 
books and  such  examples  as  he  can  reach.  The  accuracy  of  the 
curves,  the  neatness  of  the  chamfers,  the  sufficiency  of  the  bolts, 
should  all  be  noted,  as  well  as  Ihe  correctness  of  position  on  the  walls, 
and  the  alignment  of  the  purlins.  The  rafters  once  on,  the  covering- 
in  commences  immediately,  and  after  inspecting  the  quality  of  the 
boards,  which  should  be  planed  on  one  side,  smooth,  straight-edged  and 
free  from  loose  knots,  if  slate  are  to  be  laid  over  them,  it  will  become 
necessary  to  decide  as  to  the  best  way  of  working  the  flashings 
and  gutters.  Of  the  former,  there  will  be  not  only  the  valleys,  but 
the  intersections  of  the  roof  with  the  back  of  the  gable 
walls,  the  tower,  and  two  chimneys,  which  must  be 
protected  against  the  entrance  of  water.  The  specification  requires 
"  all  necessary  flashings  "  to  be  put  on  "  in  the  best  manner,"  care- 
lessly omitting  further  details.  Even  the  material  which  shall  be 
used  is  not  specified,  and  the  superintendent  wisely  resolves  to  come 
to  an  understanding  with  the  contractor  beforehand,  and  thus  avoid 
the  possibility  of  having  to  reject  work  after  it  has  been  put  up. 

Unquestionably,  the  '•  best "  material  for  flashings  is  copper,  which 
is  indestructible  by  weather,  is  so  tenacious  as  not  to  crack  like  lead 
or  zinc  when  bent  at  a  sharp  angle,  and  so  stiff  that  after 
bending  it  cannot  be,  like  lead,  blown  up  by  a  strong  wind.  Never- 
theless, copper  flashings  are  costly,  and  little  employed,  so  that  it 
would  be  unjust  to  require  a  contractor  to  use  them  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  we  must  content  ourselves  with  lead  and  zinc.  The 
latter  metal  will  constitute  the  whole  of  the  valley  and  hip  flashings, 
and  two  ways  of  arranging  these  are  permissible  ;  the  best  practice 
of  various  localities  inclining  about  as  much  to  one  as  the  other. 
Often  the  two  systems  are  mixed,  and  the  valleys  laid  by  one,  and 
the  hips  by  the  other,  or  vice  versa. 

By  the  first  method,  which  is  perhaps  most  popular  in  the  large 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


cities,  the  valleys  are  covered  with  a  long  strip  of  zinc,  fifteen  or  six- 
teen inches  wide,  laid  the  whole  length  of  the  angle,  and  soldered  to- 
gether at  the  joints  (Fig.  56).  This  is  tacked  at  the  edges,  and 
the  slates  laid  so  as  to  lap  over  it  on  each  side.  If  the  metal  were 
not  subject  to  expansion  by  heat,  this  would  perhaps  be  the  best  way ; 
but  the  long  strips  lengthen  very  sensibly  under  a  summer's  sun,  to 
contract  again  in  winter,  and  the  ultimate  effect  often  is  to  tear  them 
at  some  point,  making  a  bad  leak.  The  same  method  applied  to 
flashing  against  a  wall  consists  in  covering  the 
"  j°int  by  a  long  strip,  one  edge  of  which  is  bent 
over,  and  tucked  into  a  reglet,  groove  or  "  rag 


Fig.  56.  Fig. 

gle  "  cut  in  the  stone  or  brick  work  of  the 
wall  six  inches  or  more  above  the  slope  of 
the  roof,  and  parallel  with  it.  The  efficiency  Fig.  58. 

of  this  depends  on  the  care  with  which  it  is 

done.  The  effect  of  alternate  heat  and  cold  on  such  a  flashing  is  to 
warp  it  until  it  springs  out  from  the  "  raggle  "  either  at  one  end  or  in 
the  middle,  letting  a  stream  of  water  run  down  into  the  rooms  below 
(Fig.  57),  and  this  can  only  be  prevented  by  cutting  the  groove  quite 
deep,  an  inch  or  so,  instead  of  the  half-inch  which  is  common,  turn- 
ing in  the  flashing  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  groove,  and  wedging  it 
firmly  in  with  slate  chips  and  cement.  The  wooden  chips  generally 
used  for  the  purpose  soon  shrink  and  become  loose. 

Hips  are  covered  with  strips  by  putting  a  wooden  "  hip  roll "  on 
the  boarding  and  laying  the  slates  close  up  to  it,  subsequently  tack- 
ing on  the  metal,  fitting  it  closely  around  the  roll,  and  letting  it  ex- 
tend on  each  side  three  or  four  inches  over  the  slates  (Fig  58). 

The  essence  of  the  rival  method  consists  in  its  employment  of 
small  pieces  of  metal  lapped  over  each  other,  without 
soldered  joints,  so  that  they  can  expand  and  contract  smliV  Pieces! 
freely.     In  forming  valleys  by  this  mode  a  sufficient 
number  of  trapezoidal  pieces  of  zinc  or  other  metal  are  cut  out 


8  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

(Fig.  59),  in  length  equal  to  one  of  the  slates  used,  ami  in  width  vary- 
ing from  about  ten  inches  at  one  end  10  fifteen  or  more  at  the  other, 
according  to  the  pitch  of  the  roof. 
These  pieces  are  taken  on  the 
roof  by  the  slater  and  "slated 
in,"  each  forming  a  part  of  thp 
two  courses  of  slate  correspond- 
ing on  each  side  of  the  angle 
(Fig.  60),  and  each  being  In  id 
over  the  course  of  slates  next 
below  it.  while  the  slates  them- 

,  1-1  i        i      •    .         Fig.  59.  Fig.  60. 

selves  are  laid  more  closely  into 

the  angle  of  the  valley  than  when  the  other  system  is  employe- 1. 
Although  more  metal  is  used  in  this  way,  the  labor  is  less,  ami  the 
work  on  the  whole  more  satisfactory,  because  more  permanent. 

In  its  application  to  the  flashing  of  walls  and  chimneys  there  is 

less  to  be  said  in  favor  of  it,  compared  with  a  first-class  job  in  the 

other  style.     In  the  "  stepped  flashing,"  as  it  is  called,  composed  of 

small   pieces,  no  groove  is  cut  in  the  masonry,  but 

l?iash?ng.  short  lengths  of  the  horizontal  mortar  joints  are 
raked  out,  and  pieces  of  metal  are  cemented  in,  one 
above  another,  lapping  over  each  other  like  a  flight  of  steps.  This 
is  much  more  permanent  than  a  single  strip,  especially  if  the  pieces, 
instead  of  being  inserted  in  a  raked-out  joint,  are  built  into  the  ma- 
sonry itself,  as  is  often  done;  but  in  exposed  situations  the  wind  and 
rain  are  likely  to  blow  into  the  vortical  crevices  which  are  left 
between  the  masonry  and  the  mctpl  when  this  is  folded  down  against 
it,  so  that  elastic  cement,  or  a  stopping  of  "  paint  skins  "  and  fine 
sand  are  necessary  to  make  them  tight. 

The  principle  of  subdivided  flashings  is  applied  to  hips  by  slating 
in  pieces  of  metal,  the  slates  then  boing  laid  out  to  the  very  edge. 
This  is  both  tighter  and  neater  in  appearance  than  the  hip  roll  with 
its  spreading  sides. 

After  a  discussion  with  the  roofer  on  all  these  points,  we  deciile 
that  the  hips  and  valleys  shall  have  flashings  slated  in,  but  that  or- 
dinary flashings  in  long  strips  shall  be  used  where  the  roof  comes 
against  masonry.  The  stone-work  is  in  places  so  rough  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  turn  down  a  sheet  of  stepped  flashing  against  it  so 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  81 

closely  as  to  ue  tight,  and  the  other  mode  seems  preferable,  but  we 
enjoin  upon  the  roofer  the  greatest  care  in  securing  the  strips  into 
the  grooves. 

As  for  the  metal  of  the  flashings,  we  insist  that  those  on  walls  and 
chimneys  shall  be  "  capped,"  and  that  the  capping 

shall  be  of  four-pound  lead.     All  the  rest  we  direct     B!>?a|?ped 

.     .  Flashings, 

to  be  of  No.  13  (sixteen-ounce)  zinc. 

The  contractor  demurs  somewhat  to  capping  the  long  flashings, 
but  the  superintendent  persists,  and  the  roofer,  on  being  closely 
questioned,  finally  acknowledges  that  they  cannot  in  any  other  way 
be  made  reasonably  permanent,  and  as  the  contract  requires  that 
the  tightness  of  the  roof  shall  be  guaranteed  for  two  years,  he  at 
length,  influenced  by  the  instinct  of  self-protection,  yields. 

This  capping  is  the  best  safeguard  against  the  evil  effects  of  ex- 
pansion on  long  flashings,  and  consists  in  making  them  in  a  certain 
sense  double ;  one  strip  of  zinc  covering  the  roof,  and  being  turned 
up  against  the  masonry,  almost  to  the  line  of  the  "raggle,"  or 
groove,  with  a  few  nails  to  keep  it  in  place,  while  a  second  strip  of 
lead,  thin  enough  to  be  easily  dressed  close  against  the  wall,  is  ce- 
mented into  the  "  raggle  "  just  above  the  upper  edge  of  the  zinc 
strip,  and  turned  down  over  it,  reaching  to  a  line  an  inch  above  the 
surface  of  the  roof,  so  that  the  two  pieces  of  metal  can  expand  and 
contract  independently  without  finally  opening  a  joint.  It  must  not 
approach  nearer  than  an  inch ;  if  it  does,  it  may  dip  into  a  current 
of  water  or  melted  snow  flowing  down  the  roof,  and  the  capillary 
attraction  between  the  two  metal  surfaces  will  draw  moisture  up, 
and  over  the  edge  of  the  inner  strip,  to  find  its  way  into  the  rooms 
below. 

The  mason,  who  is  all  ready  to  cut  the  reglets,  asks  us  whether  he 
shall  make  those  on  the  rear  of  the  copings  by  raking  out  the  joint 
between  them  and  the  masonry  below,  or  shall  cut  them  in  the  coping 
itself.  There  is  some  advantage  in  protecting  the  bed  of  the  coping, 
so,  although  we  are  sorry  that  we  did  not  think  in  time  to  have  the 
leaden  strips  laid  into  the  mortar  before  setting  the  coping,  which 
would  have  made  an  admirable  arrangement,  we  order  the  grooves 
to  be  cut  two  inches  above  the  bed  joint  of  the  coping ;  to  be  at 
least  one  inch  deep,  and  Ilosendale  cement  to  be  provided,  readj 
mixed,  for  setting  the  lead  into  its  place. 


at 


82 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


The  gutters  must  next  be  attended  to,  although  the  specification, 
in  calling  for  "  gutters  of  No.  24  galvanized-iron,  as  per  detail 
drawing  (Fig.  61),  running  up  16  inches  under  slates,  and  to  have 
front  edge  turned  over  a  ^  inch  by  ^-inch  wrought-iron  bar,  with 
galvanized  wrought-iron  braces  every  24  inches,  running  up  two  feet 
under  slates,  and  strip  of  four-pound  lead  one  inch  wide  soldered  on 
under  side  to  cover  edge  of  stone 

Cutters.  cornice,"  has  relieved  us  of  the 
severest  responsibility.  But,  as  usual,  nothing 
on  the  drawings  indicates  the  position  of  the 
six  "galvanized-iron  conductors"  which  the 
specification  demands,  and  in  consequence,  the 
direction  in  which  the  gutters  shall  incline  must 
be  determined  by  the  superintendent,  according 
to  his  best  judgment.  The  task  is  not  difficult, 
and  the  gutter,  which  is  already  on  the  ground, 
having  been  examined  and  found  to  be  in  ac-V 
cordance  with  the  detailed  section,  well  formed 
and  straight,  is  passed,  and  immediately  hoisted 
to  the  roof  for  putting  in  place. 

Meanwhile,  we  descend  to  the  basement,  to 
inspect  the  construction  of  the  piers  and  the 
setting  of  the  iron  column  in  the  society-room. 
Hardly  have  we  turned  our  steps  in  that  direc- 


F'8*  6I* 


tion  when,  as  we  try  to  call  to  mind  the  basement  plan,  a  misgiving 
seizes  us,  which  is  increased  as  the  foreman  mason  conies  out  to 
meet  us,  and  jerking  his  thumb  in  the  direction  of  the  society-room, 
begins,  "  About  that  ar  column,  —  do  you  think  one  is  enough  to  hold 
that  floor  ?  "  We  make  no  direct  answer,  preferring  to  wait  until  we 
can  understand  all  the  circumstances,  which  prove  to  be  anything  but 
reassuring.  The  total  length  of  the  girder  in  the  ceiling  of  the  so- 
ciety-room, from  the  brick  wall  which  stands  under  the  chancel  steps 
to  the  east  wall,  measures  forty  feet,  and  the  column  is  indicated 
on  the  plan  as  standing  under  its  centre.  The  clear  distance  from 
the  centre  of  the  pillar  to  the  wall  in  each  direction  is  therefore 
twenty  feet,  spanned  by  a  single  8  'x  12"  hard-pine  timber.  The 
floor-beams  are  all  in  place,  but  the  shores  set  up  at  random  under 
the  girder  to  support  it  while  the  piers  were  being  built  have  not 


BUXLDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


83 


yet  be.cn  removed,  so  we  are  unable  to  judge  by  the  deflection  of  the 
sticks  whether  they  are  overloaded  or  not.     It  is,  however,  very  easy 
to  determine  this  point  by  calculation.     The  girder 
F  X  (Fig.  62)  carrying  the  western  part  of  the  so-   Calculation 
ciety-roorn  ceiling  is  the  most  strained,  since  it  bears 
one-half  the  weight  of  the  rectangular  portion  A  C  B  D  of  the  chan- 
cel floor,  while  the  girder  X  E  carries  only  one-half  the  semicircle 
C  E  D,  whose  area  is  but  about 
four-fifths  that  of  a  rectangle 
of  equal  length  and  breadth, 
and  we  will  therefore  make  our 
estimates  for  the  timber  F  X, 
sure  that   if    this    is    strong 
enough  for  its  purpose,  the  one 
at  X  E  will  be  more  than  suf- 
ficient.    The  distance  F  E  be- 
ing 40  feet,  and  the  width  of 
the  cap  of  the  column  at  X, 
8  inches,  being  deducted  from 
the  total  clear  span  of  the  two 
girders,  leaves  19  feet  8  inches 
as  the  length  of  each  between 
bearings.     The  distance  A  B 
is  39£  feet,  so  that  the  total 
floor  area  bearing  on  F  X  is  equal  to 


B 


_xj^=387  square  feet. 
The  chancel  floor  is  to  be  tiled,  and  the  weight  of  the  floor,  including 
beams  and  boarding,  brick  foundation  and  tiles,  may  be  taken  at 
seventy-one  pounds  per  square  foot,  and  that  of  the  plastering  on  the 
under  side  at  ten  pounds  more,  making  eighty-one  pounds. 

Besides  this  load,  the  supporting  timber  must  be  calculated  to  bear 
safely  the  weight  of  any  probable  crowd  of  persons  upon  it.  By 
the  New  York  building  law,  the  load  which  must  be  assumed  as  thus 
liable  to  be  brought  upon  the  floor  of  a  place  of  public  assembly  is 
estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  per  square  foot,  inde- 
pendent of  the  weight  of  the  structure  itself,  and  though  this  is 
probably  rather  a  high  estimate  of  the  weight  of  a  compact  crowd, 
we  shall  do  best  to  adopt  it  as  a  standard.  Our  chancel  floor  must 
then  ue  reckoned  at  81  +  120  =  201  pounds  per  square  foot,  and  a* 


84  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  girder  supports  387  square  feet,  the  load  will  be  201  X  387  = 
77,787  pounds,  equally  divided  by  the  beams  over  the  whole  length 
of  the  girder.  To  this  must  be  added  the  weight  of  the  girder 
itself,  which  at  45  pounds  per  cubic  fool;  will  be  £90,  making  a  total 
of  78,377  pounds.  The  absolute  breaking  weight,  applied  at  the 
centre,  of  a  Georgia-pine  beam  is  calculated  by  multiplying  the 
breadth  in  inches  by  the  square  of  the  depth  in  inches,  and  this  pioil- 
uct  by  550,  and  dividing  the  result  by  the  length  in  feet,  or,  if 

b  =  the  breadth  in  inches, 

d  =  depth  in  inches, 

/  =  length  in  feet,  b  d*  *  55°  =  breaking  weight  at  the  centre. 
If  the  load  is  equally  distributed,  instead  of  being  applied  at  the 
centre,  twice  as  much  will  be  required  to  break  the  beam,  or 
b  di  x^55Q  x  2  ^  breakillg  weight  if  uniformly  distributed.  As, 

however,  timber  deflects  seriously  and  permanently  long  before  the 
load  on  it  reaches  the  breaking  point,  and  as  it  becomes  weakened  by 
undue  strain  or  other  causes,  it  is  considered  unsafe  to  load  it  with 
more  than  one-third  the  calculated  breaking  weight,  so  that  the  re- 
sult of  the  operation  indicated  in  this  second  formula  should  be 
divided  by  3  to  obtain  the  safe  distributed  load ;  thus, 
b  d*  X  650  X  2  <•-,...,.  -,  ,  , 

g-j =  safe  distributed  load. 

Applying  this  to  our  present  beam,  whose  breadth  is  8  inches  and  its 
depth  12,  the  length  being  19|  feet,  we  find  that  8  x  m  x  55°  x  2aai 

3  X  Ii1§ 

21,478  pounds  is  the  utmost  distributed  weight  which  can  safely 
be  put  on  it.  As  our  calculations  have  just  shown  that  it  is 
liable  to  be  called  upon  to  bear  78,377  pounds,  there  is  a  very 
evident  necessity  for  doing  something  to  strengthen  it.  What  oteps 
should  be  taken  is  a  matter  for  the  architect  to  decide,  and  we  notify 
him  at  once.  There  are  several  methods  to  choose  from.  Addi- 
tional columns  can  be  interposed  between  the  central  column  and  the 
walls ;  or  the  girders  can  be  replaced  by  stronger  ones,  leaving  the 
single  column  in  the  centre  ;  or  additional  rows  of  girders  can  be 
put  in,  each  supported  by  columns.  While  awaiting  his  reply  we 
fcill  inspect  the  brick  piers  which  support  the  girders  in  the  main 

cellar.     Of  these  there  are  rather  more  than  is  neres. 

sary,  the  plan  showing  them  spaced  but  six  feet  apart 
from  centres.  A  few  only  have  been  built,  of  well-formed  hard 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  83 

brick,  twelve  inches  square,  as  the  plan  shows,  but  with  joints  of  a 
suspicious  gray-blue  color,  instead  of  brown.  They  have  boen  com- 
pleted some  three  days,  but  we  find  that  a  knife-blade  easily  pen- 
etrates the  mortar  after  the  outer  crust  is  pierced.  Calling  the 
mason,  we  ask  him  if  the  piers  were  laid  in  sand  and  cement,  only, 
without  lime,  as  the  specification  required.  He  answers  with  con- 
siderable hesitation  that  "  a  little  lime  might  perhaps  have  been  put 
in,  but  it  is  mostly  cement."  Our  suspicions  are  not  allayed,  and 
we  ask  to  see  the  cask  from  which  the  cement  was  taken,  and  to 
nave  the  mortar  mixer  brought  before  us.  The  foreman  is  about  to 
disappear  in  search  of  these  witnesses,  but  we  detain  him  and  send 
a  boy  in  his  stead,  who  does  not  return;  and  after  a  good  deal  of 
writhing,  our  captive  confesses,  being  confronted  with  the  soft  mor- 
tar, that  there  was  no  cement  on  the  ground  at  the  time,  and  he  had 
had  the  piers  built  with  the  best  mortar  he  could  possibly  make  with 
ihe  materials  at  hand. 

"  What  did  you  color  the  mortar  with,  to  make  it  so  dark  V  "  wt, 
ask ;  and  the  foreman  replies,  "  Well,  we  didn't  suppose  you  would 
know  the  difference,  so  we  sent  over  to  the  grocery  store,  and  got 
some  lampblack,  and  mixed  it  in." 

We  impress  upon  his  mind  our  objection  to  such  tricks  by  order- 
ing all  the  piers  demolished  in  our  presence,  and  dismiss  him  with 
an  admonition. 

The  architect  is  at  a  distance,  and  before  his  answer  about  the 
girders  arrives  we  have  an  opportunity  to  inspect  the  roofing  work 
again.  The  gutters  are  on  and  properly  braced,  the  flashings  fin- 
ished behind  one  gable,  and  far  advanced  on  another,  and  slating 

has  begun.     The  slates  have  but  just  arrived,  and  we 

Slate. 
stop  to  inspect  them.     The  specification    describes 

them  only  as  "  good  black  slate,"  but  in  the  lot  delivered,  and 
stacked  near  the  hoisting  tackle,  we  observe  several  different  varieties. 
Some  are  thin,  but  with  a  beautifully  smooth,  shining  surface,  and 
very  black  :  these  are  from  Pennsylvania,  and  are  of  excellent  qual- 
ity ;  others  from  Maine  are  split  a  little  thicker,  and  are  also  smooth 
and  shining,  but  with  a  grayish  lustre,  like  black  lead  ;  others  again 
are  thick,  with  a  dead  look,  and  crumble  at  the  edges  on  being 
strongly  pinched.  We  take  one  of  the  last-mentioned  kind,  and  set 
it  up  on  edge  in  a  pail  of  water,  leaving  it  a  few  minutes,  when  the 


86  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

moisture  is  seen  to  rise  in  the  substance  of  the  stone  half  an  inch  or 
more  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  This  slate  is  therefore  absor- 
bent and  bad,  and  must  be  wholly  rejected,  while,  as  it  would  give  a 
ragged  look  to  see  two  kinds  used  together  on  a  roof,  we  summon 
the  contractor  and  request  him  to  choose  between  the  Maine  or  the 
Pennsylvania  slate,  either  of  which  will  be  acceptable,  and  send 
away  all  others. 

Ascending  now  to  the  roof,  we  reach  the  gable  wall,  behind  which 
the  roofer  is  inserting  his  flashings.  As  we  approach,  he  hastily 
bundles  together  a  quantity  of  pieces  of  zinc  and  throws  them  behind 
him,  but  the  appearance  of  the  work  gives  no  cause  for  suspecting 
anything  wrong.  The  lead  is  smoothly  turned  into  its  reglet,  and 
the  groove  filled  with  cement ;  the  soldering  is  well  done,  and  the 
lower  edge  at  the  proper  distance  from  the  roof,  and  all  closely 
dressed  down  to  the  stone-work.  We  take  a  convenient  stick,  and 
turn  up  the  edge  of  the  lead  cap  far  enough  to  be  able  to  inspect  the 
flashing  beneath.  Instead  of  extending  up  the  wall  to  within  half 
an  inch  or  less  of  the  reglet  in  which  the  capping  is  inserted,  it  is 
turned  up  only  about  an  inch  and  a  half,  so  that  the  cap  just  covers 
the  edge. 

Turning  to  the  abashed  roofer  for  an  explanation,  he  says  that  he 
saw  no  necessity  for  turning  flashings  up  eight  inches,  which  would 
be  the  distance  between  the  roof  surface  and  the  reglet :  that  two 
inches  was  enough  for  any  one,  etc.  We  do  not  stop  to  argue  the 
question,  but  simply  direct  the  cap  to  be  turned  up  throughout  its 
length,  the  under  flashing  to  be  replaced  in  accordance  with  the  or- 
ders first  given,  and  the  whole  left  exposed  for  a  second  inspection 
before  the  lead  cap  is  turned  down  again  into  its  place.  Taking  the 
roofer  with  us,  we  make  our  way  to  the  other  gable,  where  both 
upper  and  under  flashing  prove  to  be  of  the  requisite  width,  but  the 
lead,  instead  of  being  cemented  into  the  groove,  is  wedged  in  with 
slips  of  wood.  We  have  these  replaced  with  slate  chips,  and  the 
groove  filled  with  fresh  cement ;  then  look  to  see  if  the  tarred  felt 
which  is  being  spread  over  the  roof  under  the  slate  is  flexible,  and 
the  rolls  perfect,  instead  of  being,  as  sometimes  happens,  full  of  holes 
and  flaws,  and  the  material  itself  brittle  and  rotten.  A  glance  is 
sufficient  to  satisfy  us  in  these  respects,  and  our  duties  are  over  for 
the  day. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  87 

A  letter  received  from  the  architect  before  our  next  visit  explains 
the  unfortunate  oversight  in  relation  to  the  girders  in  the  ceiling  of 
the  society-room.  It  seems  that  three  columns  had  been  indicated 
in  this  room  to  support  the  line  of  girders,  dividing  the  length  into 
four  spans,  for  which  the  timber  would  have  been  sufficiently  strong, 
and  the  estimate  had  been  made  including  this  arrangement,  and  the 
contract  signed  in  accordance  with  it.  Immediately  after  the  sign- 
ing of  the  contract,  however,  the  rector  of  the  church  had  repre- 
sented to  the  architect  the  inconvenience  which  would  be  caused  by 
the  row  of  pillars  through  the  middle  of  a  room  devoted  to  so  many 
uses,  and  had  engaged  him  to  reduce  the  supports  to  a  single  central 
column,  strengthening  the  girders  sufficiently  to  compensate  for  the 
increase  in  their  length.  As  time  pressed,  the  architect  had  hastily 
erased  two  of  the  columns  from  the  tracing  of  the  basement  plan  sent 
to  the  contractor  for  commencing  operations,  leaving  only  the  single 
central  one,  fearing  that  any  delay  might  cause  useless  foundations  to 
be  put  in  for  the  pillars  first  shown,  and  intending  to  arrange  for  the 
substitution  of  iron  beams,  or  girders  strengthened  in  some  other 
way,  for  those  specified ;  but  this  had  slipped  his  mind  until  he  re- 
ceived our  letter.  As  a  considerable  saving  in  cost  was  effected  by 
omitting  the  two  iron  columns,  a  corresponding  allowance  would 
have  to  be  made  from  the  contract  price,  to  be  offset  against  the  ex- 
tra cost  of  strengthening  the  girders.  Just  how  this  should  be 
effected  he  did  not  wish  to  dictate  positively.  His  own  idea  had 
been  to  substitute  two  rolled-iron  beams,  placed  side  by  side 
and  bolted  together,  for  each  of  the  wooden  girders,  but  this  would 
be  expensive,  and  although  he  was  not  restricted  as  to  the  cost  of 
making  the  change  desired  by  the  rector,  he  would  like  to  save  the 
church  all  needless  expense,  and  if  we  could  devise  any  cheaper 
mode  of  trussing  the  present  girders,  or  otherwise  supporting  the 
floor,  he  would  leave  the  matter  wholly  to  our  judgment,  in  which 
he  had  great  confidence.  The  girders,  he  would  remind  us,  were  in- 
tended in  any  case  to  be  plastered  over. l 

JThe  writer  feels  as  if  he  owed  an  apology  to  his  imaginary  architect  for  exhib- 
iting him  as  guilty  of  so  many  mistakes  and  oversights,  but  he  is  anxious  to  im- 
press upon  the  minds  of  his  readers  the  lesson  that  an  efficient  superintendent 
should  be  able  to  criticise  and  correct  in  good  time,  if  necessary,  the  work  of  the 
architect,  and  to  act  in  his  stead  upon  occasion.  His  ability  to  do  so  will  not  be 
likely  to  make  him  over-forward  in  thrusting  himself  into  the  other's  place. 


88  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

In  accordance  with  the  instructions  contained  in  the  letter,  we 
set  ourselves  to  devise,  if  possible,  an  inexpensive  mode  of  trussing 
the  girders  to  which  it  relates,  and  thereby  fulfil  the  architect's 
wishes  by  saving  the  cost  of  iron  beanls.  Some  further  calculations 
will  be  necessary  to  test  the  expedients  which  occur  to  us.  The 
present  girders  have  been  proved  to  possess  only  about  one-fourth 
the  requisite  strength.  The  most  natural  way  to  increase  this  would 
be  to  add  other  timbers  beside  the  original  ones.  If  four  girders 
of  eq^al  size  wiih  the  one  we  have  wei  e  placed  side  by  side,  and  al] 
bolted  together,  so  that  any  burden  on  one  would  be  resisted  by  the 
combined  strength  of  the  four,  the  problem  would  be  solved,  but  in 
a  very  awkward  manner,  since  the  cap  of  the  single  column  would 
have  to  be  dangerously  extended  in  order  to  support  the  ends  of  all 
the  girders. 

Perhaps  this  might  be  obviated  in  another  way.  Recurring  to 
the  formula  for  transverse  strength  of  beams,  we  notice  that  while 
the  resistance  increases  directly  as  the  breadth  of  the  timber,  it  is 
augmented  in  proportion  to  the  stjuare  of  its  depth,  so  that  although 
a  single  beam  of  four  times  the  strength  of  one  girder,  and  of  the 
panic  depth,  would  need  to  be  four  times  as  broad,  a  beam  equally 
etrong  would  be  formed  by  a  timber  of  the  same  breadth,  but  of 
only  twice  the  depth.  As  our  present  girder  is  8  inches  broad  by 
12  inches  deep,  a  stick  8  inches  by  24  would  just  meet  our  wants. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  impracticable  to  procure  beams  of  such  di- 
mensions, and  we  must  try  some  other  expedient.  It  would  be  of 
no  avail  to  put  a  second  8x12  girder  below  the  first;  each  of  them 
would  bend  independently  of  the  other,  and  their  united  strength 
would  be  that  of  two  beams  only,  instead  of  four. 

Iron  might  be  employed  for  strengthening  the  wooden  sticks.  A 
strip  of  boiler  plate,  12  inches  wide  and  half  an  inch  thick,  mi<rbt 
be  bolted  on  each  side  of  the  present  girder,  strengthening  it  per« 
haps  sufficiently  ;  or  rods  might  be  used  to  form  a  "  belly-truss  " 

while  it  may  save  the  latter  infinite  trouble  and  anxiety.  For  this  reason  the 
writer  represents  his  architect  as  neglectful  and  ignorant,  solely  for  the  sake  of 
showing  the  way  in  which  the  good  superintendent  can  bring  him  out  of  his  er- 
rors with  credit,  or,  if  both  offices  are  united  in  one  person,  how  the  architect  can 
extricate  himself  from  them.  It  must  be  remembered  that  our  hero,  whatever 
he  may  be  called,  can  only  give  proof  of  his  varied  ability  by  being  furnished 
with  occasions  for  exhibiting  it. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


89 


(Fig.  63),  the  strength  of  which  would  depend  mainly  on  *he  Jepth 
which  could  be  jriven  to  it. 


Fig.  63. 

This  would,  however,  cause  an  unsightly  projection  into  the  room, 
which  must  be  furred  over  to  conceal  it,  and  the  trussing,  though 
cheaper  than  the  flitch-plates,  would  still  be  somewhat  costly. 

Reflecting  upon  all  these  devices,  it  occurs  to  us  that  if  a  second 
beam  similar  to  the  present  one  could  be  placed  below  it  and 
strongly  connected  with  it,  so  as  to  constitute  practically  one  limber, 
the  desired  result  would  be  attained  in  a  form  extremely  compact 
and  simple.  Turning  to  some  text-books  which  we  have  brought 
with  us,  we  learn  that  this  can  to  a  limited  extent  be  accomplished 
by  bolting  or  strapping  the  two  pieces  together,  and  either  indenting 
them  into  each  other  as  in  Fig.  64,  or  notching  them  and  inserting 
hard-wood  keys,  as  in  Fig.  65,  the  sole  object  of  the  indentations  or 
keys  being  to  prevent  the  slipping  of  the  contiguous  surfaces  of  the 
beams  upon  each  other,  so  that  in  order  to  bend,  the  whole  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  compound  beam  must  be  stretched,  and  the  whole 


—  T"" 
n  " 

•! 

1                  :; 

o                    a 

ji 

1 

i__l          •     . 

?         L- 

Figs.  64,  6b. 

of  the  upper  part  compressed,  just  as  if  the  beam  were  in  one 
piece  (Fig.  66),  instead  of  the  tipper  and  lower  halves  of  each  stick 
undergoing  their  own  separate  compression  and  extension,  as  in 
Fig.  67,  which  shows  the  action  under  stress  of  beams  superposed, 
but  not  keyed  together. 

The  books  inform  us  that  compound  beams  so  keyed  together  and 
tightly  bolted  are  nearly  equal  in  strength  to  a  solid  sti^k  of  the  same 
dimensions,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  depth  of  the  indents  or  notches 
KOI*  keys  must  be  deducted  from  fhe  total  depth  of  the  two  timbers 


JO  BUILDING  SUPE1UNTENDENCE. 

v.n  order  to  obtain  the  effective  depth  which  can  alone  be  used  as  a 
Factor  in  calculating  the  strength. 

This  expedient  may  furnish  us  with  a  resource,  but  we  find  on 
jareful  study  that  if  eight  keys  were^iised,  which  would  be  a  suffi- 
cient number,  the  depth  of  each  would  have  to  be  within  a  small 
fraction  of  four  inches,  two  inches  being  cut  out  of  each  timber ; 
and  in  order  to  obtain  a  net  depth  of  24  inches,  which  is  what  calcu- 
lation shows  to  be  necessary  for  the  strength  which  we 'require,  tho 


Figs.  66,  67. 

aggregate  depth  of  the  two  sticks  before  cutting  must  be  28  inches. 
Hence,  as  the  one  already  in  is  1 2  inches  deep,  the  other  must  be 
16  inches.  A  16-inch  Georgia-pine  timber  happens  in  this  place  tc 
be  difficult  to  obtain,  the  stock  sizes  running  only  to  14  inches; 
so,  after  considering  this  objection,  we  are  induced  to  search  for 
some  still  further  means  of  so  combining  the  two  beams  as  to  secure 
the  whole  substance  of  the  lower  one  for  resisting  tension,  and  of 
the  upper  one  to  resist  compression,  the  essential  requisite  for 
enabling  the  compound  girder  to  act  as  a  single  timber. 

Calling  to  mind  the  construction  of  certain  bridge  trusses,  in 
which  the  upper  chord  is  brought  completely  into  compression  and 
the  lower  one  into  tension  by  means  of  inclined  struts,  which  resolve 
the  downward  pressure  upon  them  into  a  push  with  their  heads  in 
one  direction,  and  with  their  feet  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  be- 
ing arranged  so  that  half  of  them  point  one  way  and  half  of  them 
the  other,  mutually  act  to  compress  the  upper  and  to  stretch  the 
lower  chord  with  their  united  force  (Fig,  68),  we  reflect  that  if 
similar  means  could  be  applied  to  two  superposed  beams,  the  result 
might  be  just  what  we  desire. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  91 

The  action  of  the  oblique  struts  in  the  bridge  can  be  applied  to 
the  compound  beam  in  the  simplest  possible  way  by  nailing  oblique 
i  pieces  of  board  firmly  to  the  timbers,  reversing  them  on  opposite 
sides,  in  imitation  of  the  reversed  struts  in  the  bi  idge  truss  (Fig.  69). 
If  these  boards  are  1£  inches  thick,  their  united  strength  will  be 
greater  than  that  of  either  of  the  beams,  and  if  well  nailed,  so  as  not 
to  spring,  the  lower  beam  will  be  torn  apart  before  they  will  yield. 


Fig.  68. 

The  nails,  if  long  enough  to  penetrate  three  inches  or  more  into  the 
girders,  can  only  give  way  by  shearing,  which  would  require  a  force 
greater  than  would  be  necessary  to  break  a  solid  beam.  The 
strength  of  a  girder  built  up  in  this  way  will  not  be  affected  by 
shrinkage,  which  soon  causes  more  or  less  deflection  in  those  in- 
dented or  keyed  together ;  for  its  resistance  is  maintained  by  the 
board  struts,  which  act  only  in  the  direction  of  their  length  ;  and 
this  remains  invariable  whatever  may  be  the  lateral  shrinkage. 


Fig.  69. 

As  a  compound  beam  of  this  sort  is  a  novelty  in  construction,  we 
do  not  venture,  although  the  theory  appears  satisfactory,  to  apply  it 
to  the  important  case  before  us  without  testing  it  by  models.  Two 
or  three  of  these  are  quickly  made,  at  one-eighth  the  size  of  the  real 
cinler,  the  two  sticks  which  we  propose  to  combine  into  one  being 
accurately  cut  out  of  Georgia  pine,  each  1  inch  wide  by  1£  inches 


WI7JRSITT 


92  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

deep.  At  the  same  scale  with  the  other  dimensions,  the  length, 
to  represent  the  length  of  the  real  girder,  would  be  about  2£ 
feet,  but  if  our  theory  is  correct,  even  the  small  model,  if  cut  so 
short  as  this,  would  require  a  distributed  load  of  nearly  4,000 
pounds,  or  a  centre  load  of  about  2,000,  to  break  it.  We  can,  how- 
ever, reduce  the  transverse  strength  by  adding  to  the  length,  and  if 
this  is  made  10  feet,  or  four  times  that  first  proposed,  the  centre  break- 
ing weight  will  be  approximately  500  pounds,  —  ^  of  the  first  result, 
This  is  quite  within  our  reach,  and  we  cut  off  the  sticks  at  11  feet 
length,  set  them  one  above  the  other,  and  put  on  each  side  slips  of  any 
w  >od  at  hand,  a  little  more  than  £  inch  thick,  set  at  an  angle  of  45* 
with  the  top  of  the  beam,  and  nailed  with  small  brads,  about  $  inch 
long,  three  in  each  end  of  each  piece.  These  very  well  represent 
the  spikes  to  be  used  in  the  real  beam. 

Setting  up  two  trestles,  with  triangular  pieces  put  on  top  so  as 
to  give  supports  exactly  ten  feet  apart,  we  hang  a  "  scale,"  or  plat- 
form suspended  by  ropes,  which  is  used  to  hoist  bricks  or  other  ma- 
terials to  the  centre  of  the  model  beam,  first  weighing  it  accurately. 
Before  going  farther,  posts  must  be  set  up  in  pairs,  enclosing  the 
model  beam  between  them  with  just  enough  room  to  allow  it  to  deflect 
freely.  This  is  to  prevent  the  beam  from  turning  over  on  its  side, 
which  so  small  a  stick  is  liable  to  do  under  a  centre  load.  Then 
bricks  are  piled  on  the  scale,  weighing  each  one  before  adding  it. 

The  centre  breaking  load  of  a  solid  Georgia-pine  beam  1  inch 
wide,  3  inches  deep,  and  10  feet  long,  is  495  pounds:  that  of  two 
sticks  each  1  by  1£  inches,  by  10  feet,  superposed,  but  not  connected, 
would  be  24  7 £  pounds.  The  strength  of  our  model  cannot  possibly 
exceed  the  former,  but  should,  if  our  reasoning  is  correct,  approach 
it.  As  the  weights  are  placed  one  by  one  in  the  scale,  we  add  up  the 
total  load,  and  experience  a  lively  interest  as  the  stress  upon  tha 
beam  begins  to  approach  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  without  any 
sign  of  giving  way.  The  deflection  is  considerable,  and  the  model 
is  evidently  under  severe  strain,  so,  to  avoid  the  shock  caused  by  tha 
placing  of  a  brick  on  the  pile,  we  increase  the  load  more  gently  by 
pouring  or.  weighed  portions  of  sand.  Four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
are  passed ;  then  four  hundred  and  sixty ;  and  little  by  little  the 
weight  approaches  four  hundred  and  seventy.  Just  as  this  point  is 
reached,  a  warning  crack  is  heard,  and  we  stop ;  but  nothing  fur- 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE.  95 

tbur  follows  ;  we  recommence  pouring,  but  before  another  pound  is 
added,  the  beam  yields,  letting  the  scale  drop  suddenly,  and  on  ex- 
amination the  lower  stick  of  the  combination  is  found  to  be  torn 
asunder.  No  change  whatever  is  observed  in  the  board  struts. 

The  second  model  breaks  at  four  hundred  and  seventy  pounds,  and 
a  third  at  four  hundred  and  seventy  and  a  half.  Comparing  these 
with  the  calculated  strength  of  a  solid  beam,  we  find  that  the  girder 
built  up  by  our  simple  method  proves  to  possess  a  strength  about  equal 
to  ninety-five  per  cent  of  that  of  a  solid  beam  of  the  same  breadth  and 
depth ;  a  result  superior  to  that  obtained  by  indentations,  or  keys 
and  bolts  or  straps,  and  at  a  fraction  of  the  expense.  The  carpen- 
ter, who  had  viewed  our  preparations  with  an  ill-concealed  scorn  for 
"  them  little  slivers,"  is  profoundly  impressed  at  the  resistance  which 
the  slender  model  displays,  and  respectfully  listens  to  our  directions 
as  to  the  mode  of  trussing  the  larger  timbers.  A  very  simple  calcu- 
lation only  is  needed  to  show  that  if  the  strength  of  one  8"  x  12"  girdei 
of  the  given  length  is  sufficient  to  carry  safely  21,478  pounds,  as 
previously  ascertained,  a  solid  beam  of  equal  width,  but  twice  the 
depth,  would  carry  four  times  as  much,  namely,  85,912  pounds,  and 
that  if  for  the  solid  beam  of  8  by  24  inches  a  compound  girder  were 
substituted,  built  up  of  two  superposed  8  by  12  sticks  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  it  possessed  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  strength  of  a  solid 
beam,  this  built-up  girder  will  sustain  safely  81,616  pounds.  As  the 
load  upon  our  floor  with  120  possible  pounds  of  humanity  per  square 
foot  added,  and  including  the  weight  both  of  the  girder  now  in  place, 
and  the  new  one  added  beneath  it,  will  be  but  about  79,200  pounds, 
this  construction  gives  us  assurance  of  success,  and  we  hasten  to  put 
it  into  execution.  Since  the  compound  beam  thus  made  forms  virtually 
a  lattice  truss  of  which  the  upper  and  lower  chords  are  in  contact,  its 
strength,  like  that  of  all  trusses,  could  be  increased  by  separating  the 
beams,  so  as  to  make  the  depth  of  the  truss  greater,  and  in  this  case 
the  side  struts  should  be  stronger  in  proportion  to  the  longitudinal 
timbers.  Our  girder  is,  however,  strong  enough,  and  more  compact 
than  a  truss.  It  is  quite  important  to  gain  all  the  room  possible  be- 
neath the  girder,  as  well  as  to  have  it  rest  properly  on  the  cap  of  the 
column,  so  we  will,  after  shoring  up  the  ends  of  the  beams  on  each 
side,  cut  off  the  portion  which  overlaps  the  girder,  and  after  this 
nas  been  reinforced  with  the  second  stick,  and  the  boards  nailed  on, 


94  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  compound  beam  can  be  pushed  up  between  the  eiids  of  the  joisti 
flush  with  their  top,  and  these  will  then,  instead  of  resting  directly 
on  the  girder,  be  supported  by  strips  of  wood  2"  x  4",  spiked  to  the 
girder  on  each  side  over  the  board  struis. 

Having  made  careful  notes  of  the  quantity  of  extra  timber  used 
for  the  new  trussed  beams,  and  of  the  time  occupied  in  cutting  out, 
making  over  aad  replacing  the  work,  in  order  to  adjust  the  cost  sul>- 
sequently,  vrd  turn  to  look  at  the  lining  wall  of  the  room,  which  is 
being  built  up  inside  the  stone-work.  As  this  wall  is  to  be  plastered, 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  "  strike"  the  mortar  joints  off  flush  with 
the  surface  of  the  brickwork,  thus  taking  away  the  projections 
needed  for  the  plaster  to  cling  to.  The  common  way  of  reserving  a 
proper  "  key  "  is  to  leave  the  mortar  irregularly  projecting,  as  it  is 
squeezed  out  of  the  joints  when  the  bricks  are  hammered  into  place 
with  the  trowel ;  but  many  builders  find  that  the  annoyance  caused 
by  the  occasional  projection  of  the  dried  mortar  beyond  the  line  of 
the  plastering  is  so  great  that  they  prefer  to  lay  the  horizontal  joints 
full  of  mortar,  striking  them  off  smooth,  but  to  lay  the  verf??al  joints 
"  slack,"  that  is,  only  partly  filled  with  mortar,  so  as  to  leave  cavities 
into  which  the  plaster  can  penetrate  and  obtain  a  firm  hold. 

The  lining  wall  is  often  built  before  laying  the  floor-beams,  which 
rest  on  this,  and  not  on  the  main  mass  of  masonry ;  but,  although  a 
four-inch  brick  wall,  well  tied  to  a  thicker  one  behind  it,  possesses 
surprising  strength,  the  unusual  weight  of  the  tiled  chancel  floor 
makes  it  desirable  to  support  the  beams  which  are  to  carry  it  on  the 
heavy  outside  wall.  In  the  tower  vestibule,  however,  there  is  no  ob- 
jection to  resting  the  timber  ceiling  on  the  lining  wall,  which,  being 
of  face-brick,  will  not  be  built  until  near  the  completion  of  the  struct- 
ure, to  avoid  marring  it. 

The  piers  are  next  inspected,  and  prove  this  time  to  be  well  built, 
of  bricks  properly  soaked  in  water,  and  laid  with  cement  mortar. 
One  or  two  are  crooked  or  out  of  plumb,  and  we  order  them  to  be 
taken  down  and  rebuilt ;  and  in  a  few  instances  chips  of  wood  have 
been  used  as  wedges  between  the  top  of  the  piers  and  the  girders, 
which,  as  they  would  soon  shrink  and  allow  the  floor  to  shake,  we 
have  replaced  with  stone  chips  or  slate  and  cement. 

The  church  at  our  next  visit  is  a  maze  of  scaffolding,  put  up  for 
the  use  of  the  plasterers,  and  furring  is  rapidly  going  on.  The  up- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


right  studs  against  the  walls  are  all  in  place,  and  spiked  as  strongly 

as  may  be  to  the  masonry.     Some  builders  rake  out  a  joint,  and  drive 

in  a  wedge-shaped  piece  ol 
wood  for  nailing  the   fur- 
rings  to,  and  others  build 
"wood  bricks,"  or  short  bits 
of  joist,  at  intervals  into  the 
walls,  for  the  same  purpose ; 
but  such  pieces  are  very  apt 
\        to  shrink  so  much  as  to  be- 
V\     come  loose,  while  the  driving 
\\  of  wedges  may  endanger  the 
stability  of  the  wall,  so  that 
the  practice  of  driving  the 
spikes  directly  into  the  mor- 
tar is  generally  preferable. 
Very  rarely  the  joints  are 
raked  out  and  slips  of  lead 
laid  in,  the  spikes  being  driv- 
Fig.  70.  en  between  these,  but  the 

gain  is  hardly  worth  the  expense.     At  all  events,  it  is  desirable  an^. 

usual  to  stiffen  the  upright  furrings  by  angular  bridging  (Fig.  70) 

in  the  same  manner  as  a 

partition. 

Some  precautions 

should  at  this  stage  be 

taken  to  lessen  the  dan- 

gerously  inflammable    /, 

quality  of  this  light  con- 
struction,     As  all  those  ' 

experienced  in  fires 

know.,  the  furring  studs 

set  against  the  walls  of 

stone    structures    form 

lofty  flues  of  inflamma- 
ble  material  behind  the 

plastering,  up  which  the 


Fig.  71. 


flames  run  with  incredible  rapidity,  urged  by  the    strong 


96  BLUEING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

wliich  can  at  all  times  be  felt  rushing  up  through  them,  and  a  small 
fire  originating  in  the  basement  of  such  a  building  usually  breaks  out 
immediately  in  the  roof,  where  it  is  uncontrollable.  The  means  for 
preventing  this,  and  confining  an  accidental  fire  within  the  limits 
where  it  can  be  reached  and  extinguished,  are  extremely  simple :  a 
single  row  of  bricks  laid  in  coarse  mortar  on  the  floor  between  the 
furring  studs  will  cut  off  the  communication  between  the  cellar  and 
the  space  behind  the  plastering,  so  that  a  fire  catching  in  the  base- 
ment from  spontaneous  combustion  of  coal,  proximity  of  smoke-flues 
or  furnace-pipes  to  wood-work,  or  any  other  cause,  is  compelled,  for 
want  of  access  to  the  concealed  passages  behind  the  furrings,  to  burn 
through  into  the  room,  where  it  may  blaze  for  hours  without  doing 
much  harm,  and  is  easily  quenched  with  a  few  pails  of  water.  Two 
rows  of  bricks  are  still  better  than  one,  and  the  only  precaution  to 
be  observed  is  to  fill  up  the  whole  space  from  the  stone  wall  to  the 
inside  finish,  —  wainscoting,  sheathing,  plaster  or  babe-board,  —  with 
the  mass,  so  as  to  leave  no  openings.  If  a  second  barrier  of  coarse 
mortar  and  chips  is  laid  on  top  of  the  bridging  (Fig.  71)  all  around 
the  building,  it  will  be  doubly  protected,  and  its  destruction  by  fire 
will  be  rendered  slow  and  difficult. 

While  the  furring  is  going  on,  the  plastering  mortar  should  be 
mixed,  and  the  door  and  window  frames  set.  In  brick  buildings  the 
latter  are  usually  set  in  place  at  the  beginning,  and  the  walls  built 
around  them,  and  this  is  sometimes  done  in  stone  structures,  but  not 
by  the  best  builders,  as  it  is  difficult  to  keep  the  frames  from  being 
knocked  slightly  out  of  shape  by  the  setting  of  the  heavy  stones 
against  them;  and  by  laying  the  stone-work  separately,  with  plumb 
rule  and  level,  and  afterwards  trimming  it,  a  much  smoother  and 
straighter  surface  is  obtained,  against  which  the  frame  can  be  fitted 
weather-tight,  without  the  unreliable  and  often  unsightly  pointing 
from  behind  with  mortar  which  the  other  method  involves. 

With  the  best  of  workmanship,  however,  crevices  are  sometimes 
ieft  through  which  the  wind  can  penetrate,  and  wherever  the  wind 
can  go,  rain  and  snow  will  follow,  so  that  a  certain  amount  of  pack- 
ing is  generally  necessary.  This  can  best  be  done  with  cotton,  driven 
in  between  the  wood  and  the  stone,  where  it  is  kept  permanently  in 
place  by  its  own  elasticity,  while  it  checks  the  current  of  air  very 
effectually. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  97 

The  plastering  is  briefly  specified  to  be  the  best  three-coat  work, 
sand  finished  throughout.  At  least  as  soon  as  the  furring  is  begun, 
the  superintendent  should  see  that  the  materials  are  at  hand  for 
making  mortar  enough  for  the  whole  of  the  plastering.  By  recol- 
lecting that  one  hundred  square  yards  of  three-coat  plastering  re- 
quire three  casks  of  lime,  three  one-horse  loads  of  sand,  one  and  a 
half  bushels  of  hair,  and  about  two  thousand  laths,  the  total  quan- 
tity needed  of  each  is  easily  reckoned.  A  place  should  then  be  pre- 
pared without  delay,  where  the  whole  mass  requisite  for  the  first,  or 
scratch,  coat  can  be  mixed  and  allowed  to  cool  for  a  week  before  any 
of  it  is  put  on  the  walls.  In  this  way  only  can  we  guard  against  the 
occurrence  of  particles  of  unslaked  or  partially  slaked  lime  in  the 
mortar,  which  will  continue  to  absorb  moisture  after  being  spread  on 
the  laths,  and  perhaps  months  later  will  cause  small  cracks  or  blis- 
ters, or  throw  off  little  chips  from  the  plastering,  disfiguring  it  very 
much  when  it  is  too  late  to  remedy  the  evil. 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  mixing,  the  practice  varies.  Occa 
sionally  a  mason  is  found  who  is  willing  to  slake  the  lime  by  itself, 
and  leave  the  paste  for  several  days  or  weeks,  —  a  year,  even,  in  some 
cases, —  during  which  it  becomes  somewhat  more  firm,  and  acquires 
a  beautifully  smooth,  "fat"  quality,  something  like  cream  cheese. 
This  heap  of  paste  is  drawn  upon  as  wanted,  and  mixed  with  the 
proper  proportion  of  sand  and  hair,  then  put  immediately  on  the 
walls.  The  disadvantages  of  this  process  are  the  difficulty  of  dis* 
tributing  the  hair  evenly  through  the  stiffened  paste  without  the 
help  of  water  to  loosen  the  tufts,  and  the  increased  labor  required 
for  working  the  mortar.  The  advantages  are  the  perfect  hydration 
of  the  lime,  by  which  chip-cracks  and  blisters  are  wholly  avoided, 
the  smoothness  and  hardness  of  the  finished  plastering,  and  its 
greater  tenacity,  since  the  hair,  not  being  added  until  the  lime  is  cold, 
retains  its  full  strength,  instead  of  being  burned  and  corroded  by 
steeping  in  the  hot,  caustic  mixture  which  is  the  first  result  of  slak- 
ing. Few  builders,  however,  are  disposed  to  proceed  in  a  way  so  in- 
convenient to  them,  and  content  themselves  with  spreading  out  the 
lime,  pouring  on  water  from  a  hose,  and  after  a  little  stirring  adding 
the  hair,  which  is  mixed  into  the  steaming  liquid,  and  the  sand  im- 
mediately thrown  over  it,  incorporated  as  well  as  may  be,  and  the 
whole  mass  piled  up  for  use.  The  hair  in  this  case  deteriorates  as 


98  BUILDING  SUPEBINTENDENCE. 

fast  as  the  lime  improves,  and  a  season  of  cooling  which  would  be 
very  beneficial  to  the  latter  ingredient  will  nearly  destroy  the 
former,  so  that  a  course  must  needs  be  taken  midway  between  the  two 
extremes. 

Whatever  mode  is  adopted,  a  clean  floor  of  planks  must  be  laid, 
with  sides  a  foot  high  or  more,  to  keep  dirt  from  being  mixed  with 
the  mortar.  There  is  a  process,  said  to  be  in  vogue  in  certain  coun- 
try districts,  of  slaking  the  lime  upon  the  ground,  and  then  hoeing 
up  grass,  roots,  soil  and  lime  into  a  viscid  mess,  which  is  spread  upon 
the  laths,  where  it  stays  long  enough  for  the  mason  to  get  his  pay ; 
but  such  methods  of  construction  are  not  within  the  scope  of  thia 
work. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  tell  by  the  appearance  of  a  heap  of  plas- 
tering mortar  whether  the  lime,  sand  and  hair  are  of  good  quality 
arid  in  suitable  proportion.  If  properly  mixed,  which  will  be  shown 
by  the  absence  of  streaks  in  the  mass,  a  small  quantity  of  the  mor- 
tar should  be  taken  up  on  a  trowel,  slate  or  piece  of  board.  If  it 
hangs  down  from  the  edge  without  dropping  off,  the  quantity  of  hair 
is  sufficient ;  or,  if  it  is  practicable  to  see  the  mixture  made,  one 
bushel  of  hair  to  each  cask  of  lime  in  the  first  coat  will  be  the  proper 
proportion.  The  quality  of  the  hair  can  be  tested  in  the  same  way. 
Long  ox-hair  is  perhaps  the  best.  It  is  strong,  and  the  fibres  an 
inch  or  more  in  length.  Goat's-hair  is  longer,  but  not  so  strong,  and 
short  cattle  and  horse  hair  is  of  the  least  value.  On  drying  a  small 
quantity  of  mortar,  an  excess  of  sand  will  be  shown  by  its  being 
easily  rubbed  away  with  the  fingers.  The  quality  of  the  lime  is  best 
tested  by  observing  the  slaking.  For  plastering,  lump-lime  only  is 
used  in  ordinary  cases,  and  it  should  slake  energetically  and  fall  into 
a  smooth  paste,  without  any  refractory  lumps  or  particles  of  "  core." 
If  such  are  found,  all  the  casks  of  that  brand  should  be  rejected. 

Before  lathing,  grounds  must  be  put  on  wherever  necessary. 
These  are  strips  of  wood  planed  carefully  to  a  uniform  thickness, 
8< wen-eighths  of  an  inch  or  more  where  the  plastering  is  to  be  three- 
coat,  or  three-fourths  for  ordinary  two-coat  work,  secured  to  the  fur- 
rings  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  convenient  nailings  for  the  subsequent 
finishings ;  one  row,  for  instance,  being  set  an  inch  or  so  below  the 
top  of  the  future  base-board,  two  or  three  in  the  height  of  a  wain- 
scoting, a  border  around  each  door  and  window,  and  so  on.  Being 


Figs.  72,  73. 


BUILPING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  99 

of  equal  thickness,  and  usually  straightened  with  the  straight-edge 
and  plumb  rule  to  correct  any  irregularity  in  the  furrings  or  studs, 
they  afford  guides  for  bringing  the  plaster  to  an  even  surface, 
Further  guides  are  formed  by  the  angle-beads,  or  grounds  of  other 
shapes,  which  are  secured  to  the  corners  of  the  walls  before  lathing. 
The  customs  of  different  localities  vary 
in  this  point,  and  the  superintendent 
will  probably  be  asked  to  decide  on 
some  particular  mode,  if  the  specifica- 
tion gives  no  definite  instructions. 

In  the  Eastern  States,  where  walls 
are  almost  invariably  papered  or  deco- 
rated as  soon  as  finished,  it  is  usual  to 
nail  to  the  studs  at  the  angles  a  mould- 
ing in  section  like  Fig.  72  or  73.  This 
serves  as  a  guide  for  putting  on  the 
mortar,  and  when  the  plastering  is  com- 
pleted gives  a  finish  to  the  corner  which 
is  not  readily  broken  or  scratched,  and 
is  easy  to  cover  with  paint  or  paper  to 
good  effect.  In  New  York  and  other 
places  where  a  pure  white  hard-fin- 
ished surface  is  or  has  been  fashion- 
able, it  is  customary  to  turn  the  corners 
by  means  of  a  "  rule-joint,"  worked  in 
the  plastering  itself,  and  consisting  of  a 
vertical  semi-cylindrical  moulding  some 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  radius,  which 
stops  against  a  bevelled  surface  a  little 
below  the  cornice  and  above  the  base- 
board or  wainscot  (Fig.  74). 

These  rule-joints  are  beautifully  ex- 
ecuted by  the  best  plasterers,  but  they 
cause  a  rather  awkward  succession  of 
breaks  in  the  vertical  line  of  the  angle, 

since  the  plaster  must  be  fully  brought  out  to  the  corner  above  and 
below  all  mouldings,  as  otherwise  a  troublesome  horizontal  surface 
would  be  left  (Fig.  75),  which  with  the  small  wooden  angle-bead  i* 


Fig.  74. 


100 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE, 


not  noticeable ;  and  they  are  liable  to  scratches  and  abrasion  during 
tLe  progress  of  the  work  and  afterwards.  This  risk  of  abrasion  is 
with  plaster  angles  a  serious  matter,  and  the  difficulty  of  the  common 
rule-joint  is  sometimes  overcome  by  squaring  out  the  plaster  to  the 
edge,  and  subsequently  putting  on  a  wooden  saddle-moulding  (Fig.  76) 
cut  out  of  a  solid  piece,  but  this  device  has  little  to  recommend  it. 
For  so  large  a  building  as  a  church,  the  rule-joints  have  a  massive 
look  which  is  pleasing,  so  we  choose  this  method  of  finishing  the  cor- 
ners, and  leave  the  lathers  to  their  task,  first  enjoining  upon  them  to 
set  the  laths  at  least  three-eighths  of  an  inch  apart,  and  to  break  joint 
every  six  courses. 

The  weather  having  now  settled  to  steady  cold,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  heat  the  building  by  artificial  means,  to  prevent  the  plaster  from 
freezing,  which  will  disintegrate  it  and  cause  it  to  crumble  and  fall 
off  the  laths.  Some  supervision  should  be  exercised  over  the  stoves 
or  furnaces  employed  for  the  purpose,  as  workmen  are  incredibly 
careless  and  indifferent  about  the  dangers  to  which  they  expose  the 
property  of  other  people.  The  windows  must  be  well  closed  with 
boards,  and  temporary  windows  inserted. 
After  the  first,  or  scratch,  coat  is  partly 
on,  the  superintendent  should  endeavor  to 
look  behind  the  laths,  to  see  if  it  has  been 

well  trowelled,  so  as  to 

press  the  mortar  through 

the  openings  and  cause  it 

to  bend  over  by  its  own 

weight,  forming  a  hook  by 

which  the  plaster  is  held 

to  the  laths.     As  this 

is  the  only  way  in  which 

the  whole  substance  of  the 

plastering  can  be  kept  on 

the  walls,  it  is  very  neces- 
sary that   ceilings   should 

clinch  well  over  every  lath, 

and  walls  over  every  sec- 
ond or  third  lath.      The 
scratching  should  be  thoroughly  done,  as  it  affords  the  key  for  the 


Fig.  75. 


Fig.  70. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  101 

second  coat,  and  there  should  be  no  appearance  of  tufts  of  hair,  which 
would  show  that  the  mortar  had  not  been  thoroughly  mixed. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  see  whether  the  specification  directs  that 
the  plastering  shall  be  carried  to  the  floor  everywhere,  or  only  to  the 
grounds. 

It  is  so  habitual  with  builders  to  plaster  only  to  the  grounds  that 
they  frequently  overlook  the  directions  which  require  a  better  mode. 
Of  course  it  is  unnecessary  to  carry  the  hard-finish  behind  the  wood- 
work, but  the  first  two  coats  should  be  required,  if  any  plastering  in 
that  position  is  specified. 

By  the  second,  or  brown,  coat,  all  the  surfaces  must  be  brought  to  a. 
true  plane,  the  angles  made  straight,  the  walls  plumb  and  the  ceil- 
ings level,  since  no  effectual  corrections  can  be  made  afterwards 
The  wall-spaces  in  the  interior  of  the  church  are  so  broken  that  no 
great  care  is  required  to  obtain  a  true  surface,  and  we  may  content 
ourselves  with  a  close  examination  of  each,  to  detect  irregularities, 
and  tufts  of  hair,  which  will  make  unsightly  spots  in  the  finished 
work.  The  brown  coating  must  on  no  account  be  allowed  to  begin 
until  the  first  coat  is  thoroughly  dry.  Men  accustomed  to  two-coat 
work,  in  which  the  first  coat  is  often  only  superficially  hardened 
when  the  second  is  put  on,  frequently  treat  three-coat  work  in  the  same 
manner,  thereby  weakening  or  sometimes  ruining  the  whole.  If  part 
of  the  walls  are  to  be  plastered  on  brickwork,  and  others  on  laths, 
the  scratch  coat  is  put  only  on  the  laths,  and  when  this  is  dry,  the 
brown  coat  is  spread  over  the  whole,  including  the  brickwork. 

After  the  brown  coat  is  dry  and  hard,  the  rule-joints  at  the  angles 
should  first  be  made,  and  the  hard-finish  then  applied.  This,  instead 
of  being  mixed  with  little  or  no  sand,  and  with  a  portion  of  plaster  of 
Paris,  as  would  be  proper  for  a  smooth  surface,  should  for  our  purpose 
contain  a  large  proportion  of  rather  coarse  sand,  sifted  so  as  to  be 
uniform  in  grain,  and  little  or  no  plaster  of  Paris,  which  would  set 
so  quickly  as  to  hinder  the  thorough  rubbing  with  the  float  which 
is  necessary  to  bring  the  sand  evenly  to  the  surface. 

The  plastering  once  dry,  the  wood  finishing  can  proceed  without 
hindrance.  The  superintendent  must  henceforth  devote  himself  con- 
scientiously to  the  study  of  the  detail  drawings  as  they  arrive  from 
the  architect's  office,  and  endeavor  to  forestall  any  slight  mistakes  or 
misfits,  which  are  sure  to  happen  through  the  unavoidable  variation 


102  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

of  the  finished  work  from  the  exact  dimensions  shown  on  the  plans. 
If  a  panelled  wainscot  is  shown,  he  should  measure  on  the  spot  the 
lengths  of  the  various  portions  of  wall  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied, 
and  compare  them  with  the  drawings^  spacing  off  the  panels  as  shown 
in  the  details,  so  that  there  may  be  no  awkward  want  of  continuity, 
or  disproportionate  members  at  the  angles.  The  stock  for  the  wood- 
work must  also  be  looked  after.  A  load  of  hard-wood  lumber  inev- 
itably contains  a  large  percentage  of  worm-eaten,  stained  or  other- 
wise defective  pieces,  which  must  have  the  defects  cut  out  in  work- 
ing them  up,  and  a  sharp  eye  is  needed  to  see  that  this  is  done,  — 
that  a  piece  of  black  walnut  streaked  with  white  sap  is  not  put  into 
an  out-of-the-way  panel,  or  a  knot  cut  out  and  a  patch  inserted  in 
another  place,  where  it  may  be  unobserved  while  fresh  from  the 
sand-paper,  but  will  grow  more  conspicuous  afterwards.  Any  care, 
lessness  or  want  of  decision  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  is  apt 
to  be  taken  advantage  of. 

Generally,  where  the  floors  are  double,  all  bases  and  wainscot- 
ings  and  other  "  standing  finish  "  are  put  on  before  the  upper  board- 
ing is  laid.  In  this  way  the  base-boards,  which  extend  half  an  inch 
or  more  'below  the  surface  of  the  upper  boarding,  which  is  laid  up 
against  them,  can  shrink,  as  they  are  certain  to  do  more  or  less, 
without  opening  a  crack  between  them  and  the  floor,  and  no  care  is 
needed  in  fitting  them  to  the  floor  (Fig.  77),  while  with  a  single  floor- 
ing it  is  customary  either  to  "  scribe  "  the  base  to  the  boards,  so  aa 

to  fit  minutely  all  their 
irregularities,  which  an- 
swers well  enough  until 
the  shrinkage  of  base 
and  floor-beams  draws 
them  apart;  or  to  plough 


^^ 

base  laboriously  into 


Figs-  77«  78'  the  floor  (Fig.  78).     In 

our  building  we  follow  the  former  course  in  all  parts  except  the 
chancel,  whose  tiled  surface  cannot  well  be  fitted  against  the  wood- 
work. As  tiles  and  marble  are  easily  injured  by  the  operations  of 
workmen,  we  will  wait  as  long  as  possible  before  undertaking  this 
portion,  carrying  the  nave  nearly  to  completion  before  touching  th« 
chance!  at  all. 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  103 

When  all  the  wood-work  in  the  nave  is  finished  except  laying  the 
upper  floor,  the  marble  steps  at  the  chancel  entrance  may  be  set 
upon  the  brick  wall  built  up  to  receive  them. 

The  young  superintendent  should  be  familiar,  from  observation 
and  comparison  at  some  good  marble-worker's,  with  the  appear- 
ances which  characterize  the  different  qualities  of  marble :  in  thia 
way  only  can  he  judge  with  certainty  whether  the  proper  kind  of 
material  is  furnished.  Often  pieces  of  marble  whose  appearance  is 
injured  by  obtrusive  spots  or  streaks  are  sent  instead  of  the  best 
quality,  under  the  pretext  that  there  is  nothing  better,  and  some- 
times even  a  coarse,  soft  Vermont  marble,  streaked  with  a  blue  some- 
what resembling  the  Italian,  is  palmed  off  on  a  contractor  in  place 
of  it,  but  the  inferior  kind  can  easily  be  distinguished  by  its  coarse 
grain,  and  the  yellowish  cast  of  the  white  portions. 

As  soon  as  the  steps  are  accurately  set,  they  should  be  protected 
with  boards,  and  the  laying  of  the  tiles  may  begin.  For  convenience 
in  building,  an  under  floor  has  been  laid  over  the  chancel,  as  well 
as  the  nave  and  aisles,  and  this  rough  flooring  should  now  be  taken 
up,  sawed  into  short  pieces  so  as  to  fit  between  the  beams,  and  these 
pieces  laid  in,  on  strips  previously  nailed  to  the  sides  of  the  beams. 

The  best,  and  the  only  durable,  way  of  laying  encaustic  tiles  on  a 
floor  framed  with  wooden  beams  is  to  make  the  foundation  for  them  of 
bricks  set  edgeways  on  the  short  pieces  of  board  between  the  beams, 
but  to  save  material  the  bricks  are  sometimes  laid  flat,  though  the 
result  is  much  inferior.  In  our  case  the  proper  mode  is  specified, 
and  it  is  only  necessary  for  us  to  make  sure  that  the  strips  or  "  fil- 
lets "  are  nailed  on  at  the  proper  distance  from  the  top  of  the  beams, 
a  mat  tor  about  which  workmen  are  very  careless. 

The  tiles  are  from  ^  to  -|  of  an  inch  thick,  and  to  ensure  a  contin- 
uous but  thin  bed  of  cement  between  them  and  the  brick,  the  top  of 
the  latter  should  be  f  of  an  inch  below  the  line  of  the  finished  floor. 
The  brick  to  be  used  may  measure  from  3  to  4^  inches  in  width,  ac- 
cording to  locality,  so  we  try  those  on  the  ground,  and  find  them  to 
vary  from  3^  to  3|  inches.  The  maximum  width  must  be  taken 
which  added  to  the  ^  of  an  inch  for  tiles  and  cement  gives  4i  inches 
depth  from  the  finished  floor  to  the  boarding,  or,  as  the  boarding  is  | 
of  an  inch  thick,  5|  inches  from  the  finished  floor  to  the  top  of  the  fillet. 
The  beams  should  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the  tiling  as  they 


104  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

would  to  a  wooden  floor  of  double  boarding,  in  order  to  avoid  a  disa- 
greeable break  between  the  chancel  floor  and  that  of  the  adjacent 
robing-room,  and  as  each  portion  of  the  double  flooring  is  |  of  an 
inch  thick,  the  whole  distance  from  tfae  finished  floor  to  the  beams 
will  be  If  inches,  which  being  deducted  from  the  distance  last  found 
will  give  3|  inches  as  the  proper  gauge  from  the  top  of  the  beams  to 
the  top  of  the  fillet.  A  thorough  understanding  of  this  matter  will 
save  much  subsequent  annoyance  and  expense  in  cutting  off  brick 
which  are  too  high,  or  concreting  up  from  a  surface  set  too  low. 

It  is  better  and  much  more  economical  to  have  tiles  laid  by  the 
parties  who  furnish  them,  and  contracts  are  generally  made  for  the 
floor  complete,  but  cases  may  occur  where  the  local  masons  will  be 
called  upon  to  do  the  work.  In  such  cases  the  brick  surface  must 
be  swept  clean  and  thoroughly  wet,  and  the  tiles  must  be  soaked  in 
water  for  some  time  before  they  are  used.  Without  these  precau- 
tions, either  the  brick  or  the  tile  will  absorb  water  from  the  thin 
layer  of  cenient  between  them,  making  it  powdery  and  useless.  The 
best  Portland  cement  only  is  suitable  for  use  —  the  American  brand?, 
if  fresh,  being  quite  equal  to  most  of  the  English  as  generally  found 
in  our  markets  —  and  is  to  be  mixed  rather  thin,  without  any  addition 
of  sand.  The  pattern  must  be  commenced  from  the  centre,  which  is 
to  be  very  exactly  ascertained  by  previous  measurement,  and  straight- 
edged  strips  of  board  should  be  put  down  as  guides  for  each  day's 
work,  not  only  for  regulating  the  lines  of  the  pattern,  but  also  for 
securing  a  uniform  surface,  which  is  done  by  first  levelling  them 
carefully,  and  setting  the  tiles  by  means  of  a  straight-edge  resting 
on  the  strips.  Each  tile  is  set  in  a  bed  of  cement  spread  for  it,  and 
beaten  down  to  the  proper  point  with  the  wooden  handle  of  the 
trowel.  After  a  sufficient  number  have  been  laid,  the  joints  maj  be 
grouted  with  liquid  cement,  which  must,  however,  be  immediately 
wiped  off  the  surface  of  the  tiles,  since  it  is  difficult  to  remove  it 
when  dry. 

If  the  cement  is  good,  the  tiles  cannot,  afrer  a  few  days,  be  re- 
moved without  breaking,  so  that  too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised 
in  placing  them  properly  at  first.  When  the  pattern  reaches  the 
edge  it  is  usually  necessary  to  cut  many  of  the  tiles.  This  can  bo 
done  by  soaking  them  well  in  water,  and  then  scoring  a  line  with  a 
sharp  chisel  where  the  separation  is  to  be  made ;  then  placing  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


105 


chisel  exactly  on  the  line,  a  sharp  blow  will  divide  the  tile  neatly. 
Wide  chisels  should  be  used,  and  unless  the  tile  is  well  soaked,  it  is 
apt  to  fly  into  fragments. 

Aftsr  the  floor  is  done,  it  is  covered  with  sawdust  an  inch  or  two 
deep,  and  planks  laid  over  it  to  walk  on.  The  base-boards  and  wain- 
scoting are  then  fitted  down  upon  it.  The  marble  tiling  is  laid  in  th« 
aaine  way,  on  bricks  set  on  edge,  but  the  marble  is  thicker,  usually 
varying  from  seven-eighths  to  one  and  a  quarter  inches,  the  under 
side  being  quite  rough ;  and  the  fillets  should  be  set  accordingly. 
The  laying  is  much  easier  than  that  of  clay  tiles,  and  mortar  of 
cement,  lime  and  sand  in  equal  parts  may  be  used. 


Fig.  79.  Fig.  80.  Fig.  81. 

By  the  time  our  building  has  reached  this  point,  spring  has  ad- 
vanced, and  the  warm,  moist  days  of  May  present  the  best  possible 
opportunity  for  pointing  and  cleaning  down  the  exterior  of  the 
stone-work.  The  brownstone  ashlar  will  look  best  if  pointed  with 
mortar  of  nearly  the  same  color  as  the  stone,  which  can  be  made  by 
mixing  burnt  umber  with  the  cement  used.  The  best  Portland  cem- 
ent is  preferable  to  any  other,  and  is  to  be  thoroughly  mixed  with  an 
equal  bulk  of  sand,  and  such  coloring  matter  as  may  be  required, 
but  with  only  just  water  enough  to  give  the  compound  a  mealy  con- 
sistency. The  old  mortar  is  raked  out  of  the  joints  to  a  depth  of 
an  inch,  or  if,  as  is  likely,  that  in  the  upper  part  is  found  to  be  frozen 
and  powdery  for  a  greater  distance  inward,  it  should  be  completely 
removed  as  far  as  the  freezing  has  extended ;  then  the  pointing  mor- 
tar is  inserted  and  strongly  driven  in  with  a  steel  jointer  or  S-shaped 
instrument,  rubbing  it  until  the  moisture  is  squeezed  out  upon  the 
surface.  The  tool  is  formed  to  mould  the  edge  of  the  joint  in  various 
ways  as  it  is  rubbed.  The  most  durable  form  is  the  hollow  (Fig.  79), 


106  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

but  the  half-round  (Fig.  80)  is  often  used,  as  well  as  the  fillpt 
(Fig.  81).  In  the  two  latter  the  mortar  is  less  thoroughly  com- 
pressed, and  the  projecting  part  may  fall  off. 

The  cleaning  down  is  done  with  mujiatic  acid  and  water,  applied 
with  a  sponge,  and  followed  with  pure  water.  This  removes  the  lime 
stains,  and  leaves  all  neat. 

The  subsequent  operations  in  the  church,  such  as  painting,  glazing, 
and  decoration,  can  best  be  studied  in  connection  with  other  construc- 
tions in  which  they  play  a  more  important  part. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

CHAPTER   II. 

WOODEN  DWELLING-HOUSES. 

ONE  of  the  most  difficult  portions  of  an  architect's  business  is 
precisely  that  which  amateurs  usually  imagine  to  be  the  easiest,  — 
the  superintendence  of  the  work  connected  with  dwelling-houses.  It 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  an  intelligent  householder,  who  has  spent 
a  large  part  of  his  time  for  years  in  observing  the  defects  in  his  own 
habitation,  and  comparing  it  with  those  of  his  neighbors,  would  find 
no  difficulty  in  directing  the  construction  of  a  similar  building,  but 
experience  soon  shows  that  the  knowledge  which  most  persons  have 
of  the  structures  they  live  in  is  a  very  superficial  one,  consisting  in 
the  observation  of  results,  rather  than  of  the  processes  by  which  the 
results  are  obtained ;  so  that  the  amateur  house-builder  is  apt  to  find 
himself  quite  at  fault  in  endeavoring  to  give  the  necessary  prelimi- 
nary directions  for  securing  the  particular  objects  of  strength,  dura- 
bility, healthfulness,  appearance  or  finish  which  he  has  most  at 
heart.  Nevertheless,  it  is  often  necessary,  and  always  desirable,  that 
unprofessional  persons  should  be  able  to  direct  the  operations  of 
mechanics,  and  make  contracts  for  various  kinds  of  work,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  suggestions  contained  in  the  following  pages,  although 
intended  primarily  for  young  architects  and  superintendents,  will 
Tiot  be  found  too  technical  for  the  ordinary  reader,  and  that  the 
explanations  given  with  regard  to  the  objects  which  it  is  desirable  to 
seek,  and  the  means  by  which  they  can  be  attained,  will  be  found 
serviceable  tc  the  large  class  of  persons  who  are  interested  in  build- 
ing, either  for  themselves  or  others,  as  well  as  to  those  occupants  of 
houses  already  built  who  would  be  glad  to  understand  more  clearly 
the  structure  of  their  dwellings,  with  a  view  either  to  the  correction 
of  defects,  or  the  planning  of  improvements. 

The  point  in  which  amateurs  are  particularly  liable  to  fail  is  the 


108  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

choosing  of  a  proper  site,  and  as  even  experienced  architects  are  not 
always  successful  in  this  respect,  a  few  directions  in  regard  to  the 
placing  of  houses  upon  the  ground  should  not  be  omitted. 

In  all  cases  it  is  essential  to  determine  the  position  approximately 
before  the  plans  are  begun,  in  order  that  the  building  may  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  present  an  agreeable  appearance  fron. 
tlie  neighboring  streets,  securing  at  the  same  time  the 
greatest  pleasantness  of  prospect  from  the  windows, 
with  the  most  cheerful  light  and  sunshine  in  the  rooms,  that  the  sit- 
uation can  be  made  to  yield.     In  our  climate,  the  best  aspect  for  the 
windows  of  living-rooms,  particularly  of  bed-chambers, 
is  south  or  south-east.     Such  rooms  are  warm  in  win- 
ter and  cool  in  summer,  and  cheerful  at  all  seasons.     Xext  to  a 
southern  exposure,  the  eastern  is  the  pleasantest,  and  may  be  appro- 
priated for  dining-rooms,  which  will  thus  enjoy  the  advantage  of  the 
early  morning  sunshine,  with  coolness  during  the  rest  of  the  day. 
Between  the  western  and  the  northern   aspect   there  is  little   to 
choose;  the  cheerlessness  of  the  one  is  hardly  more   objectionable 
than  the  heat,  on  summer  evenings,  of  the  other,  so  that  these  sidos 
of  a  dwelling-house  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  given  up  to  inferior 
rooms,  halls  and  stairways.     Of  course,  considerations  of  prospect 
and  position  with  respect  to  the  approaches  must  affect  the  plan  more 
or  less,  but  the  skill  of  the  designer  will  be  shown  by  the  success  with 
which  he  contrives  to  satisfy  all  the  requirements  at  the  same  time. 
Other  points  will,  however,  claim  the  attention  of  the  careful  archi- 
tect, besides  the  more  obvious  ones  of  situation  and  exposure,  and  the 
final  staking  out  of  the  building  should  never  be  at- 

Character  of  tempted  until  they  have  been  thoroughly  considered. 
Ground. 

Foremost  among  these  is  the  character  of  the  ground, 

-  -whether  wet  or  dry,  springy  or  well-drained.  The  only  certain 
tisst  of  this  consists  in  sinking  pits  at  different  places,  to  the  depth 
proposed  for  the  future  cellar,  or  a  little  below,  if  the  trials  are  made 
in  the  dry  season ;  but  indications  may  be  found  in  the  conformation 
of  the  surface.  Depressions,  or  level  spots  hemmed  in  by  ledges  of 
rock  or  elevations,  even  slight  ones,  generally  retain  water  near  the 
surface.  The  ridges  which  enclose  the  basin  may  be  at  some  dis- 
tance, but  the  effect  will  be  the  same.  The  upper  part  of  hill  slopes, 
tfflo,  contrary  to  the  common  notion,  is  very  apt  to  be  wet  and  springy, 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE.  109 

while  rock}  regions  seldom  furnish  dry  cellars  unless  unusual  precau- 
tions are  taken. 

Such  precautions  should,  however,  be  taken  wherever  there  is  occa- 
sion for  them,  since  a  house  with  a  wet  cellar  is,  to  speak  briefly,  un- 
fit for  habitation.     The  main  principle  to  be  borne  in 
mind  in  ordinary  soils  is  that  the  ground-water  stands    rounc 
nearly  at  a  level  (Fig.  82),  varying,  like  the  tides,  with  the  seascn; 
and  that  the  smaller  elevations  in  gravelly  soil  form  islands  in  the 


Fig.  82. 

subterranean  lake,  upon  which  a  house  may  be  built  with  perfect 
safety,  while  another,  a  few  rods  distant,  would  have  its  basement 
perpetually  steeped  in  moisture.  The  existence  of  ground-water  a 
foot  or  two  below  the  cellar  bottom  is  of  comparatively  little  conse- 
quence, provided  that  this  is  well  concreted,  and  that  the  water  never 
rises  any  higher. 

More  important   elevations  generally  contain  a   substructure  of 
rock,  above  which  the  rain  collects,  and  flows  down-    cellars  on 
ward,  coming  to  .the  surface  at  intervals  in  the  form  of         Hills. 
springs.    As  the  soil  is  always  thinner  near  the  top  of  the  hill,  such 
springs  are  more  common  there,  and  are  the  more  annoying  because 
their  existence  often  cannot  be  detected  until  the  progress  of  the 
excavation  brings  them  to  light.    These  streams  can,  however,  in  or- 
dinary soils  be  intercepted  without  much  difficulty,  and  their  current 
turned  harmlessly  toward  one  side ;  but  it  is  otherwise 
with   cellars  cut  in  rock.    These  are  almost  invariably 
infested  with  small  veins  of  water,  which  run  along  the  seams  of  the 
ledge  and  collect  in  the  basin  formed   by  the  excavation,  soaking 
through  the  house  walls,  and  saturating  the  concrete  floors ;  and  the  ex- 
tra cost  of  intercepting  such  veins  and  of  cutting  a  channel  to  convcj 
the  water  to  a  proper  outfall  is  usually  very  serious,  so  that  locations 
of  this  kind  should  be  avoided ;  or  if  that  is  impossible,  the  level  of 
the  cellar  bottom  should  be  set  so  high  that  little  or  no  excavation 
in  the  rock  will  be  needed,  and  the  downward  course  of  the  water  will 
not  Ix  interrupted.     This  may  always  be  done,  without  detriment  to 


110  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  appearance  of  the  building,  by  means  of  suitable  grading  or  tei- 
racing. 

Clayey  soils  are  also  unfavorable.      Being  impervious,  the}  retain 

the  water  which  may  settle  into  the'new  excavation  just  outside  the 

cellar  walls  until  it  finds   an  escape  for  itself,  very 

probab?y  into  the  building.     Moreover,  they  expand 

greatly  in  wet  seasons,  or  in  frosty  weather,  to  contract  again  in 

summer;  while  the  tenacity  with  which  frozen  clay  clings  to  stone 

or  brick  work  often  causes  the  dislocation  or  derangement  of  cellar 

walls  and  piers. 

Most  house-lots  in  the  country  or  suburban  towns  offer  at  least 
some  choice  of  location,  and  as  a  few  inches  difference  in  the  level 
of  the  cellar  bottom,  or  a  few  feet  difference  in  the  distance  of  the 
building  from  a  ledge,  may  be  quite  sufficient,  without  special  precau- 
tions, to  determine  the  wetness  or  dryness  of  the  cellar,  and  therefore 
the  healthfulness  or  unhealthfulness  of  the  house,  a  judicious  study 
of  the  site  is  of  great  importance. 

Where  the  limits  or  the  character  of  the  plot  admit  of  no  choice,  ik 
will  in  very  many  cases  be  necessary  to  incur  extra  and  unforeseen 
expense  in  draining  the  excavation  thoroughly.  Some  of  the  ex- 
pedients to  be  adopted  have  been  described  in  the  first  part,  and 
others  will  be  mentioned  below ;  so  that  with  the  help  of  these  hints 
the  architect  or  private  owner  will  be  able  to  deal  with  any  difficul- 
ties which  he  is  likely  to  meet. 

The  house  whose  construction  we  have  to  follow  is  situated  on  the 

side  of  a  rather  steep  hill,  sloping  toward  the  north.     The   lot  on 

Description   which  the  house  stands  comprises  about  six  acres,  and 

of  House,  the  avenue  leading  to  the  building  passes  for  some 
distance  through  a  cutting,  seven  or  eight  feet  deep.  Rocks  appear 
above  the  surface  in  various  portions  of  the  lot,  and  several  springs 
ooze  thiough  the  sides  of  the  cutting  made  for  the  driveway,  indicat- 
ing that  the  ledge  is  not  far  beneath.  The  house  is  to  be  of  mod- 
est dimensions,  comprising  a  parlor,  dining-room,  hall,  kitchen, 
staircase-hall  and  back  staircase  on  the  ground  floor,  and  four  cham- 
bers, dressing-room  and  bath-room  on  the  second  story,  with  four  fin- 
ished attics  above.  The  cellar  contains  a  laundry,  furnace-room, 
vegetable-cellar,  and  open  place  for  storage,  and  a  servants'  water- 
closet.  The  hall  is  finished  in  oak,  with  oak  floor ;  the  principal 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  Ill 

staircase  is  of  cherry,  with  mahogany  posts  and  rail ;  the  parlor  ia 
finished  in  maple,  with  pine  floor,  bordered  with  maple  and  cherry 
parquetry  work ;  and  the  dining-room  is  in  ash.  The  kitchen  and 
laundry  are  finished  in  hard  pine,  with  floors  of  the  same. 

All  the  rooms  in  the  second  story  are  in  whitewood,  except  the 
bath-room,  which,  in  order  to  give  a  pleasant  liveliness  of  effect,  is 
finished  with  alternate  black  walnut  and  maple. 

The  attics  are  in  pine  throughout.  The  hall  and  one  large  attic 
room  arc  to  be  finished  so  as  to  show  the  natural  color  of  the  wood ; 
the  other  rooms  will  be  painted. 

The  plans  and  specifications  having  been  carefully  drawn,  the 
owner,  if  unacquainted  with  building  matters,  should  take  pains  to 
understand  them  fully.  While  still  in  the  architect's  The  owner 
hands,  he  should  with  his  help  consider  the  various  and  the  Plans. 
points  in  regard  to  which  he  has  any  particular  theory  or  prefer- 
ence, and  by  measuring  for  himself  in  the  houses  of  his  friends  the 
dimensions  of  doors,  windows,  stairs,  closets,  sinks,  baths  and  other 
details,  and  comparing  them  with  those  shown  on  his  plans,  he  can 
form  a  clear  notion  of  what  is  intended  by  them,  and  satisfy  him- 
self that  they  indicate  just  what  he  wishes  his  house  to  be.  The  speci- 
fications, also,  he  should  study  carefully  at  home  with  his  family, 
and  may  take  advantage  of  the  suggestions  which  they  furnish  to 
modify  certain  points,  if  he  wishes,  in  a  way  to  please  the  fancy  of 
the  persons  who  will  occupy  the  various  rooms.  Such  study  as  this 
is  of  much  value  to  the  owner,  who  is  thereby  often  saved  from  ex- 
pense in  altering  work  already  done  in  the  ordinary  way  in  order  to 
gain  some  object  desirable  to  himself,  but  about  which  he  had  for- 
gotten to  inform  the  architect ;  while  the  architect  is  always  glad  to 
furnish  all  the  assistance  in  his  power,  knowing  that  a  little  time 
spent  in  promoting  the  thorough  comprehension  by  all  parties  of  the 
structure  indicated  in  the  drawings  will  enable  him  to  do  his  work 
with  much  more  satisfaction  to  himself  as  well  as  to  his  employer, 

In  regard  to  the  contracts,  the  question  always  arises,  whether 
the  whole  work  shall  be  entrusted  to  one  man,  or  two  or  more  sep- 
arate contracts  made;  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to 

,_.  ,  •       i.  .     i  ,    Contractors. 

answer  it.     1  he  practice  of  various  localities  has  much 

to  do  with  the  matter.  In  some  places  it  is  rare  for  mechanics  to 
uuike  sub-conUvicts,  and  therefore  each  trade  must  be  dealt  witl> 


112  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

separately,  while  in  others  the  best  contractors  prefer  to  have  the 
sole  control  of  their  buildings,  and  endeavor  to  keep  the  work  en- 
tirely in  their  hands. 

Where  a  building  must  be  speedily  completed,  it  is  generally 
easier  to  attain  that  object  by  putting  the  whole  contract  into  the 
hands  of  one  man.  Two  contractors,  responsible  only  to  the  owner, 
and  jealous  or  indifferent  in  regard  to  each  other*s  interests,  alwa}  a 
charge  each  other  with  the  responsibility  for  the  delays  which  usu- 
ally occur  under  such  circumstances,  and  the  owner  finds  it  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  either  to  enforce  his  contract  as  to  time  of  comple- 
tion, or  to  collect  indemnity  for  the  delay  without  doing  injustice. 
Where,  however,  the  time  is  not  restricted  to  the  shortest  possible 
space,  most  architects  will  agree  that  the  best  results  are  obtained 
by  making  at  least  four  separate  agreements;  the  cellar-work  and 
grading  forming  the  subject  of  one ;  the  carpenter-work,  including 
painting  and  glazing,  of  a  second ;  the  brickwork  and  plastering  of  a 
third ;  and  the  plumbing  of  the  fourth.  It  is  often  desirable  to  make 
a  fifth  agreement  for  the  painting  and  glazing,  but  if  the  caipenter 
is  trustworthy,  there  is  generally  some  advantage  in  allowing  these 
to  be  included  in  his  contract. 

By  the  system  of  separate  contracts  better  work  is  usually  to  be 
obtained  in  each  branch,  and,  considering  its  quality,  at  a  cheaper 
rate;  although  speculative  builders  have  ways  of  making  sub-con- 
tracts at  prices  which  seem  incredibly  low  to  those  who  are  not 
familiar  with  the  difference  between  the  good  and  the  "jerry  "  style 
of  work.  The  best  mechanics  always  prefer  to  treat  directly  with 
the  owner ;  they  are  in  this  way  sure  of  their  pay,  and  can  thert^- 
fore  afford  to  work  at  a  lower  rate ;  while  the  owner  saves  the  per- 
centage of  profit  which  the  principal  contractor  feels  himself  entitled 
to  charge  upon  the  tenders  made  to  him  by  his  sub-contractors. 
Whatever  mode  is  adopted,  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  to  have 
the  plans  and  specifications  as  full  and  explicit  as  possible.  If 
these  are  what  they  should  be,  a  building  so  simple  as  a  dwelling- 
house  can  be,  and  generally  is,  where  the  owner  knows  his  own 
mind  in  regard  to  the  kind  of  house  he  wishes,  and  takes  the 
trouMe  to  see  that  the  plans  express  it,  carried  out  to  completion 
without  any  "extras"  whatever;  generally  to  the  great  surprise  of 
I  he  proprietor,  who  is  sure  to  be  informed  by  volunteer  counsel- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  113 

lors  before  lie  begins  operations  that  his  extra  bill  will  inevitably 
be  "at  least  as  large  as  the  contract  price;"  that  he  "ought  to  re- 
strict the  architect  to  half  the  sum  that  he  intends  to  spend,"  and  so 
on.  As  an  example  of  what  is  desirable  in  such  documents,  forms 
of  specifications  and  contracts  are  subjoined,  such  as  have  been  used, 
with  the  necessary  variations,  for  a  considerable  number  of  houses, 
all  of  which  have  been  finished  complete  at  the  contract  price,  with- 
out a  dollar  of  extra  charge,  except  in  case  of  unexpected  difficul- 
ties of  ground,  or  unless  the  owner  has  desired  to  make  alterations 
as  the  work  went  on,  or  to  add  to  the  contract  the  execution  of  some 
parts  of  the  furniture,  as  mantels,  fixed  book-shelves,  seats,  and  the 
like. 

Armed  with  such  instruments  as  these,  we  enter  upon  the  execu- 
tion of  the  work.  We  have  made  separate  contracts  for  the  cellar- 
work,  the  carpentry,  the  brickwork  and  plastering,  and  the  plumb- 
ing, and  have  also  selected  a  good  furnace,  and  arranged  with  the 
makers  to  put  in  the  requisite  pipes  and  registers  in  the  best  manner 
when  the  proper  time  comes,  under  a  guaranty  that  the  apparatus 
shall  heat  a  given  number  of  rooms  to  a  temperature  of  70°  when  the 
thermometer  outside  stands  at  0°,  without  taking  air  from  the  cellar 
or  any  other  part  of  the  house,  and  without  regard  to  the  direction 
of  the  wind. 

Occasionally,  the  heating  apparatus  is  included  in  the  principal 
contract,  but  this  is  most  unwise.  As  with  plumbing,  the  work  to 
be  done  is  so  difficult  for  any  one  but  an  expert  to  understand  or 
criticise,  and  the  difference  between  good  and  inferior  work  is  so 
great,  in  value,  even  more  than  in  cost,  that  it  should  never  be  made 
the  interest  of  any  man  to  get  it  done  as  cheaply  as  possible.  Ex- 
planations of  these  points  will  be  given  further  on.  Meanwhile?,  we 
hasten  to  get  the  cellar  under  way. 

Although  no  rock  appears  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  site 
selected  for  the  house,  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  will  be  found 
somewhere  in  the  excavation,  and  the  contract  with  the  cellar  mason 
pro\  ides  a  certain  price  which  shall  be  paid  for  whatever  blasting 
may  be  necessary,  stipulating  at  the  same  time  that  the  rock  taken 
out  shall  be  used  in  the  cellar  walls,  and  an  allowance  made  for  it. 
If  there  is  other  stone  to  be  had  near  at  hand,  the  cost  of  taking  out 
rock  from  the  cellar  is  fairly  offset  by  its  value  for  walling  material. 


114  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  occurrence  of  ledge  in  the  excavation  will  usually  be  accon> 
panicd  by  small  springs,  but  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  burden  the 
contract  with  an  allowance  {or  draining  them  away  properly,  so,  if 
they  occur,  the  operations  which  they*may  render  necessary  will  be 
best  treated  as  extra  work. 

The  contractor  and  the  superintendent  stake  out  the  ground  to- 
gether, the  latter  checking  the  rectangularity  of  the  lines  by  measur- 
ing the  diagonals ;  and  batter-boards  are  set  up ;  and  a 
bench-mark,  showing  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  cellar 
wall,  is  made  on  one  of  the  batter-boards.  The  house  should  always 
be  set  high  enough  to  give  good  cellar  windows,  with  a  sufficient  fall 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground  away  from  the  building  on  all  sides. 
Three  feet  distance  from  the  highest  point  of  the  natural  surface  in 
the  perimeter  of  the  building  to  the  top  of  the  cellar  wall  is  none  too 
much.  This  will  give  two  and  a  half  feet  of  underpinning  all  around, 
and  insure  a  light,  well-ventilated  cellar. 

The  excavation  is  required  to  be  eight  inches  wider  on  all  sides 
than  the  outer  line  of  the  walls,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  be  car- 
ried up  smooth  and  strong,  outside  as  well  as  inside.     The  whole  is 
laid  in  mortar   containing   equal  parts  of  lime   and 
BuHdfng.     cement,  and  both  the  outer  and  inner  faces  are  to  be 
pointed  neatly.     The  trenches  are  to  be  dug  two  feet 
below  the  proposed  cellar  bottom,  and  eighteen  inches  of  dry  stone 
chips  are  first  put  in,  before  starting  the  cement  wall.     All  this  is 
expensive,  and  the  cellar  will  cost  in  this  way  at  least  twice  as  much 
as  if  constructed  in  the  usual  country  fashion ;  but  it  will  be  more 
than  ten  times  as  good,  and  nothing  short  of  this  fulfils  the  conditions 
which  modern  ideas  regard  as  essential  to  a  wholesome  dwelling. 

The  clear  height  of  the  cellar  should  be  eight  feet  in  the  smallest 
house  intended  for  winter  occupancy,  and  more  than  this  in  larger 
mansions,  in  order  to  give  sufficient  height  above  the  furnace  to  al- 
low of  a  proper  ascent  in  the  tin  hot-air  pipes,  without  which  the 
heat  cannot  be  successfully  distributed  to  the  various  rooms.  This, 
with  the  two  feet  additional  below  the  cellar  bottom,  will  make  ten 
feet  of  stone-work,  one  and  one-half  feet  of  which  will  be  laid  dry, 
and  the  remainder  in  cement.  Whether  the  material  of  the  cellar 
wall  shall  be  brick  or  stone  may  depend  upon  the  local  custom 
Hard  stone  makes  the  best  wall.  It  is  non-absorbent,  and  as  the 


B  UILD1NG  S UTE1UNTENDENCE. 


115 


frozen  earth  adheres  but  slightly  to  its  surface,  a  wall  built  of  it  is 
not  subject,  as  brickwork  is,  to  gradual  loosening  and  decay  at  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Where  brick  must  be  used,  they  should  be 
of  the  hardest  quality. 

The  first  operation  is  the  stripping  of  the  surface  loam  from  the 
whole  area  covered  by  the  building,  and  about  eight  feet  additional 
on  all  sides,  and  the  stacking  of  this  in  some  convenient  place  for 
use  in  the  subsequent  grading.  The  excavation  of  the  cellar  then 
proceeds  in  conformity  with  the  lines  given  by  the  batter-boards. 
As  the  top  of  the  wall  is  fixed  by  the  bench-mark  at  3  feet  above 
the  highest  point  of  the  ground,  and  the  clear  height  of  the  cellar  is 
8  feet,  the  main  part  of  the  excavation,  exclusive  of  the  trenches  for 
the  walls,  will  be  nowhere  more  than  5£  feet  below  the  ground ;  the 
extra  3  inches  being  allowed  for  the  thickness  of  the  concrete. 

We  have  chosen  our  site  well,  and  are  fortunate  enough  to  find 
no  rock  in  the  excavation,  and  no  wet  places  in  the  cellar  itself,  but 
in  the  trenches,  two  feet  or  so  below,  the  water  stands  in  several 
place?.  This  is  an  indication  of  a  moisture  in  the  subsoil,  which  will 
increase  after  spring  rains  so  as  to  fill  the  trenches,  Draining 
and  these  will  pverflow  into  the  cellar  unless  some  the  Soil. 
other  outlet  is  provided  for  the  water.  The  slope  of  the  ground,  and 
still  more  the  comparative  shallowness  of  the  cellar,  mane  this  a  sim- 
ple matter :  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to 
continue  the  trench 
beyond  the  line  of 
the  house,  giving  it 
slight  fall  to  some 
point  where  the  de- 
scending ground  will 
allow  it  to  reach  the 
surface.  The  trench 
may  be  filled  nearly  to  the  top  with  loose  stones  or  broken  brick, 
and  then  covered  with  straw  and  loam,  or  a  pipe-drain  may  be  laid 
through  it  (Fig.  83).  All  the  water  that  collects  under  the  walls 
will  then  be  immediately  drained  away,  and  no  matter  what  may  be 
the  level  of  the  ground-water  outside  the  house,  the  trench  with  its 
outlet  forms  a  barrier  which  will  prevent  the  moisture  from  ever 


Fig.  83. 


116 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


making  its  appearance  above  the  cellar  floor  (Fig.  84).  It  is  true 
that  in  some  clayey  grounds,  especially  if  traversed  by  veins  of  sand, 
water  may  rise  through  the  cellar  bottom  in  some  places,  but  such 
soils  are  rare,  and  moisture  "so  introduced  can  easily  be  carried  off 
by  small  "  French  drains  "  of  broken  stone,  or  lines  of  agricultural 
tiles,  leading  from  the  wet  spot  to  the  main  drain  under  the  walls, 
or,  still  better,  extending  from  wall  to  wall  across  the  place  to  be 
drained. 

Where  the  ground  is  very  soft  or  sandy,  the  outlet  drain  should 
be  laid  at  a  gentle  pitch,  in  order  that  the  current  toward  it  may  not 
be  swift  enough  to  scour  out  the  soil  beneath  the  foundations  and 
cause  settlement.  Some  architects,  for  fear  of  this,  prefer  to  make 

stone  or  tile  drains  entirely  outside 
the  walls  (Fig.  85,  or  Fig.  86),  but 
this  is  somewhat  more  expensive, 
as  the  excavation  must  be  made 
proportionally  larger,  while  the 


former  method  is  more  effectual 
in  keeping  the  cellar  walls  and 
floor  dry,  and  if  carefully  carried 
out  should  be  no  more  liable  to 
cause  settlements  than  the  other. 


Fig.  84. 


If  small  stones  are  used  under  the  walls,  they  should  be  compacted 
with  a  rammer,  and  thus  form  an  incompressible  mass. 

The  building  of  the  masonry  upon  this  foundation  is  a  simple  mat- 
ter, but  must  be  sharply  watched,  for  in  no  detail  of  construction  ia 
the  common  practice  so  vicious  as  in  the  laying  of  cellar  walls.  In 


Fig.  S3. 


Fig.  86. 


Btone  districts,  the  majority  of  houses  stand  upon  basements  built 
with  blocks  of  the  most  irregular  shapes,  laid  "  dry,"  that  is,  with 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  117 

out  mortar,  and  depending  parti;'  for  support  upon  the  earth  out- 
side of  them.  The  smoothest  face  of  the  stones  is  inside,  while 
the  outside  presents  a  ragged,  bristling  mass  of  projections ;  and  to 
improve  the  visible  face,  the  crevices  between  the  stones  are 
"  chinked  "  with  small  chips,  and  the  joints  are  "  pointed  "  by  rub- 
Ding  mortar  over  them  with  the  point  of  a  trowel.  A  coat  of  white- 
wash completes  a  work  which,  while  it  is  new,  presents  on  the  inside 
precisely  the  same  aspect  as  the  best  sort  of  wall.  But  a  brief  period 
only  is  needed  to  make  its  defects  manifest.  Streams  of  water,  after 
heavy  rains,  pour  through  the  loose  structure,  followed  by  rats, 
which  burrow  down  next  the  outside  of  the  v/alls  until  they  find  a 
wide  joint  from  which  they  can  easily  push  out  the  pointing  mortar 
and  obtain  access  to  the  interior  ;  and  little  by  little  the  earth  washes 
into  the  crevices  between  the  bank  and  the  stone-work,  until  the  latter 
yields  to  the  pressure,  presenting  the  characteristic  inward  convexity 
of  country  cellar-walls. 

Every  feature  of  these  constructions  must  be  avoided.  In  place 
of  a  dry  wall,  furnished  only  with  a  miserable  pointing  of  mortar 
on  the  inside,  the  whole  thickness  must  be  solidly  filled  with  cem- 
ent ;  in  place  of  a  rough  outside  surface,  the  exterior  must  be  the 
smoothest  face,  that  water  may  not  collect  upon  projections  and  be 
conducted  into  the  wall ;  instead  of  leaning  against  the  bank,  the 
masonry  must  stand  at  least  eight  inches  away  from  it,  and  the  inter- 
vening space  must  be  filled  with  porous  gravel  or  sand,  in  order  that 
the  subterranean  water-courses  may  be  intercepted  and  conducted 
away  harmlessly  into  the  drain  beneath ;  while  all  the  details  of  bond- 
ing and  proper  jointing  of  the  masonry  should  be  as  carefully  at- 
tended to  as  in  the  case  of  a  wall  above  ground.  Further  details  on 
these  points  have  been  given  in  Chapter  I.,  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here. 

Without  assiduous  watching,  most  country  masons  lapse  con- 
ti  lually  into  the  wretched  workmanship  which  has  become  habitual 
to  them :  long  stones,  which  they  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  break, 
are  set  in  the  wall  with  a  fair  inner  face,  but  with  long  "  tails  "  pro- 
jecting from  the  exterior  into  the  bank,  whereas  the  reverse  would 
be  the  preferable  way ;  and  short  stones  are  similarly  set,  leaving  a 
cavity  on  the  outside  to  gather  water  and  conduct  it  into  the  wall. 
As  the  earth  is  usually  filled  in  behind  the  stone-work  as  fast  as  it  in 


118  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

laid,  sucli  faults  are  not  generally  detected  until  heavy  rains  reveal 
them,  too  late  to  apply  a  remedy ;  but  something  may  be  ascertained 
by  using  the  steel  rod  spoken  of  in  Chapter  I.,  while  the  mortar  and 
the  filling  outside  are  yet  soft."  *< 

It  is  essential  that  the  material  next  the  wall  should  be  perma- 
nently porous.  If  sand  or  gravel  cannot  be  had,  un- 
Crave i  outside  sjfted  coal-ashes  form  a  good  substitute,  and  biokcn 
bricks,  stone  or  slate  chips  may  be  used. 

The  underpinning,  or  portion  of  the  wall  above  ground,  is  very 
commonly  made  different  from  the  rest,  in  order  to  obtain  a  smoother 

face.     Long  slabs  of   split  granite  or  freestone   are 
Underpinning.  °  J  . 

often  used,  and  for  cheaper  work  an  eight-inch  brick 

wall  is  sometimes  built  on  top  of  the  stone-work,  from  the  grade  line 
upward.  Of  these,  the  granite  underpinning  is  much  the  best: 
sandstone  and  brick  absorb  moisture  from  the  ground,  as  well  as 
from  snow  lying  against  them  in  winter,  and  communicate  it  to  the 
interior,  besides  being  themselves  subject  to  exfoliation  and  decay 
at  the  ground  line. 

Independent  of  appearance,  the  best  construction  is  to  carry  the 
cellar  wall  of  the  full  thickness  to  the  very  top,  trusting  to  careful 
"  drawing  "  of  the  joints  for  giving  the  exposed  portions  a  satisfac- 
tory finish.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  wall  is  not  thinned  at  the 
top  (Fig.  87),  as  is  very  commonly  done  in  country  work,  to  give 
opportunity  for  the  vicious  form  of  floor  framing  by 
which  the  joists  are  set  flush  with  the  upper  surf.ice 
of  the  sill,  their  lower  portion  hanging  down  inside. 
Whatever  the  thickness,  —  twelve  inches  for  brick, 
sixteen,  eighteen,  or  twenty  for  stone,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  material,  —  it  should  continue  to  the 
under  side  of  the  sill,  leaving  only  the  necessary  places 
for  inserting  the  girders,  and  levelling  off  the  top  care- 
fully. Frames  of  basement  windows  should,  if  possi- 
ble, be  built  into  the  wall.  The  method  of  spiking 
Fig.  87.  them  to  the  under  side  of  the  sill,  leaving  large,  irreg- 
ular holes  in  the  stone-work  for  their  reception,  is  objectionable,  as 
the  subsequent  filling  up  is  apt  to  be  less  solid  than  the  surrounding 
masonry. 

While  the  wall  is  in  process  of  construction,  the  framing  of  the  tira- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  119 

her,  that  is,  the  cutting  into  lengths,  fitting  and  mortising,  will  have 
been  going  on.  Usually  thia  is  done  upon  the  ground,  from  material 
selected  in  some  neighboring  yard,  as  near  the  re- 
quired dimensions  as  may  be ;  but  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  contractors  to  procure  an  "  ordered  frame,"  by  sending  framing 
plans  and  elevations,  with  a  proper  specification,  to  some  saw-mill  in 
the  timber  region,  where  the  pieces  are  cut  from  the  logs  of  the 
exact  sizes  required.  One  or  two  establishments  do  more  than  this, 
and  sUp  the  frame  ready  mortised  and  fitted  for  putting  together, 
including  when  desired  the  boarding,  shingles,  clapboards,  doors, 
windows,  and  other  simple  wood-work.  There  is  an  economy  in  tha 
use  of  such  frames,  as  waste  is  avoided,  and  more  perfect  timber  is 
obtained,  but  the  yard  timber  is  usually  better  seasoned,  and  somo 
contractors  think  that  the  time  spent  in  overhauling  after  delivery 
the  innumerable  pieces  of  an  ordered  frame,  except  of  the  simplest 
kind,  in  order  to  select  the  sticks  that  are  needed,  quite  offsets  the 
waste  and  extra  expense  of  framing  from  yard  timber  in  the  usual 
way. 

The  inspection  of  the  rough  lumber  is  not  difficult.  White  pine, 
spruce,  and  hemlock  are  the  woods  most  commonly  used.  In  the  far 
West,  cottonwood  is  sometimes  employed,  and  redwood  is  the  ordi- 
nary framing  timber  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Of  these, 


redwood  is  much   the    best,  being    strong,  straight-  ins"ecTlon  ol 


grained,  obtainable  in  any  dimensions,  and  less  sub- 
ject to  shrinkage  or  movement  than  any  other.  White  pine  is  next 
in  value,  for  similar  reasons.  Cottonwood  is  soft,  and  shrinks  very 
much.  Spruce  resembles  pine,  but  shrinks  more,  and  is  apt  to  warp 
and  twist  with  great  force  during  the  drying  process,  and  to  "  check." 
or  crack  open  near  the  middle  of  the  stick.  The  dimensions  run 
rather  small,  compared  with  white  pine  or  the  enormous  sizes  of  red- 
wood lumber,  but  pieces  up  to  12"  x  12",  and  25  or  30  feet  long  are 
always  to  be  had,  and  wooden  dwelling-houses  rarely  require  any- 
thing more.  Hemlock  is  a  harder  wood  than  either  spruce  or  pine, 
and  can  be  had  in  large  sizes,  but  its  strength  is  injured  by  the  want 
of  adhesion  between  its  annual  rings,  which  disposes  the  timber  to 
crack  very  badly  in  drying.  The  hemlock  trees  are  very  tall,  and 
their  swaying  in  the  forest  often  "  shakes  "  or  separates  the  rings  of 
the  heart-wood,  so  that  when  sawn  into  scantlings  or  boards  the  io- 


120  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

terior  is  little  better  than  a  mass  of  splinters.  Hard  pine,  or,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called,  Georgia  pine,  is  much  used  in  city  buildings, 
where  its  great  stiffness  is  of  advantage  in  enabling  floors  of  wide 
span  to  be  covered  without  employing  timbers  of  inconvenient  size, 
but  it  is  rarely  necessary  in  country  houses  to  incur  the  additional 
expense  of  using  it  for  this  purpose,  although  it  is  employed  in  othef 
ways.  It  is  a  very  good  timber,  though  shrinking  considerably  in 
drying.  The  principal  point  in  examining  the  lumber  will  be  to  as- 
certain whether  the  sizes  are  according  to  the  specifications,  for 
which  a  few  measurements  will  suffice.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  only  green  lumber  will  show  the  full  dimensions ;  and  seasoning 
reduces  them  somewhat.  A  white-pine  plank  originally  cut  12  inches 
wide  will  when  dry  measure  about  llf  inches;  spruce,  hemlock, 
and  hard  pine  somewhat  less  ;  cottonwood  will  shrink  a  whole  inch  in 
the  same  width,  while  redwood  scarcely  shows  any  change ;  so  that 
suitable  allowances  should  be  made  for  every  case.  Crooked  and 
"  waney  "  pieces  (see  Figs.  46,  47,  page  65)  should  be  condemned,  as 
well  as  those  affected  with  serious  shakes.  Longitudinal  cracks  in 
the  middle  of  a  thick  piece  of  spruce  need  not  condemn  it :  they  are 
almost  inevitable  if  the  timber  is  dry,  and  do  not  detract  much  from 
its  strength ;  but  if  they  occur  in  a  thin  piece,  as  a  floor  joist,  and 
extend  entirely  through  it,  they  constitute  serious  defects.  Sticks  of 
which  portions,  especially  at  the  ends,  appear  livid  and  friable  should 
be  totally  condemned.  They  ire  infected  with  dry-rot,  and  will  com- 
municate the  infection  to  otners.  Amputation  of  the  diseased  part 
is  not  sufficient,  for  the  threads  of  the  fungus  may  extend  a  long  dis- 
tance into  the  sound  part  of  the  wood. 

The  first  timber  set  in  place  is  the  sill,  and  this  should  have  a 
thick  bed  of  soft  cement  mortar  prepared  for  it  by  the  mason,  and 
be  hammered  firmly  down  into  it.  This  closes  up  the  crevice  be- 
tween the  top  of  the  stone-work  and  the  timber,  through 

which'  in  bad1^  built  houses»  much  cold  air  finds  it9 
wav  into  the  hollow  floors.  For  additional  protectioni 
after  the  adjustment  which  is  generally  necessary  to  get  the  sill 
into  position  is  over,  it  is  best  to  point  up  with  similar  mortar 
along  its  outer  edge  (Fig.  88).  The  inside  might  be  similarly 
treated,  but  this  would  interfere  with  the  still  more  effectual  pro 
cess  of  lining  with  bricks  and  mortar,  as  described  below.  It  is  now 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


121 


usual  to  make  the  sill  of  pine  or  spruce,  like  the  other  portions  of 
the  frame.  Our  forefathers,  who  had  no 
furnaces,  set  their  dwellings  very  low, 
and  banked  them  up  with  earth  in  win- 
ter so  as  to  cover  the  lower  portions  of 
the  wood-work,  in  order  to  keep  the  soH 
air  from  the  cellar  and  the  floors ;  anil 
they  found  chestnut  or  cedar  to  he  the 
only  material  which  would  resist  dry-rot 
under  such  circumstances.  We,  how- 
ever, prefer  high,  light  cellars,  with 


Fig.  88. 


cement  walls,  kept  dry  by  furnaces,  and  little  dampness  reaches 
the  sills,  but  there  is,  as  in  all  cases  where  wood  comes  in  contact 
with  masonry,  a  possibility  of  its  being  affected  by  moisture  in 
the  pores  of  the  stone  and  mortar,  so  that  it  is  best  to  provide  a 
repellent  coating  by  painting  the  sill  on  the  under  side.  The  other 
sides  should  be  left  untouched,  so  as  not  to  impede  the  drying  action 
of  the  air.  The  ends  of  girders  also,  where  they  enter  the  wall, 
may  be  similarly  painted. 

In  most  cases,  the  sill  is  the  subject  of  more  notching,  mortising, 
and  cutting  than  any  other  timber  in  the  building,  and  must  be  of 
sufficient  dimensions  to  allow  for  this.  Six  by  six  inches  is  a  common 
size,  or  six  by  eight,  where  the  basement  openings  are  large,  or  there 
is  danger  of  decay  affecting  the  under  side.  The  angles  are  halved 
together  (Fig.  89),  and  pinned  or  strongly  spiked.  Many  builders 
secure  the  sill  to  the  foundation-walls  by  means  of  vertical  bolts, 
about  two  feet  long,  built  for  the  greater  part  of  their  length  into 
the  walls,  at  intervals  of  eight  or  ten  feet.  Corresponding  holes  are 
bored  in  the  sill,  and  this  is  slipped  over 
the  bolts,  and  se- 
cured by  nuts  and 
washers.  With 
light  structures  in 
exposed  situations 
this  forms  a  valu- 
able safeguard  against  storms. 

Into  the  sill  the  floor  beams  are  framed  in  various  ways.     A  very 
common  and  bad  mode  is  to  notch  it  some  three  inches  deep,  cutting 


0?  TH» 


: 


122 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Fig.  91. 


a  corresponding  tenon  on  the  upper  corner  of  tlie  beanij  so  that  the 
upper  surface  of  this,  when  in  place,  is  flush  with  the  top  of  the  sill, 
the  lower  part  projecting  below.  This  ne- 
cessitates the^liinning  oil  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  wall,  which  would  otherwise  come 
in  the  way  of  the  beams,  while  the  tenon, 

;v-"v^- r—  from  which  hangs  the  whole  weight  of  the 

\j  )     beam  and  its  load,  often  splits  off  (Fig.  90). 

J  J>^(     Th®  beams  should,  instead  of  this,  be  cut 

-£»— -"SS&J  SQ  ag  to  br|[ng  their  lower  edges  flush  with 
the  bottom  of  the  sill  (Fig.  91),  with  a 
notch,  perhaps  two  inches  deep,  to  hold 
them  in  place.  Then  the  tenon  will  be 
deep  enough  to  hold  safely,  and  the  wall 
can  be  made  of  the  full  thickness  to  the 
very  top. 

Mortises  must  also  be  made  for  the  corner  posts,  and  for  those  to 
be  set  at  the  intersection  of  interior  partitions  with  the  outside  walls. 
Usually,  each  of  the  "  filling-in  "  studs  (Fig.  92)  has  also  its  appro- 
priate mortise,  even  in 
"  balloon  "  framing,  but 
occasionally  a  cheap 
builder  contents  him- 
*  self  with  simply  setting 
the  end  of  tlie  stud 
down  on  the  sill,  and  se- 
curing it  by  nails  driv- 
en diagonally  through 
the  foot.  Of  course, 
the  position  of  all  the 
mortises  is  taken  from 
:  the  framing  plans  and 
elevations;  which  can- 
not be  too  carefully 

made,  or  the  execution 

Fie*  92  ofthemtoo  closely 

watched,  as  a  window,  a  chimney-opening,  or  a  stairway,  once  framed 
in  the  wrong  place,  cannot  be  altered  subsequently  without  injury  to 


BUILDING  SUPEKINTENDENOE.  123 

the  solidity  of  the  building.  Workmen  are  very  careless  about  such 
matters ;  we  have  known  a  foreman  to  use  a  framing  plan  traced  on 
transparent  cloth  wrong  side  up,  and  regardless  of  the  careful  lettering 
and  figures  on  the  right  side,  to  cut  the  mortises  for  the  whole  side  of 
a  house  by  scaling  with  a  foot-rule  the  dimensions  as  seen  inverted 
through  the  waxed  linen ;  and  it  is  rare,  even  with  the  most  carefully 
drawn  plans  before  them,  for  framers  to  complete  the  mortising  of  a 
lill  without  gross  mistakes.  The  young  architect  or  superintendent 
should  therefore,  as  soon  as  the  sills  are  set  in  place,  verify  every 
measurement.  The  figures  on  the  plans  for  a  wooden  building  should 
always  give  the  distances  of  the  centres  of  openings  from  the  corners 
of  the  building  and  from  each  other;  then  the  middle  point  between 
the  mortises  made  in  the  sill  for  the  studs  which  form  the  jambs  of 
the  opening  can  be  readily  found,  and  compared  directly  with  the 
figure.  If  the  plans  are  figured,  as  is  sometimes  done,  in  the  way 
appropriate  to  stone  or  brick  buildings,  by  giving  the  distances  to 
the  jambs  of  the  openings,  the  verification  is  much  more  diilicult, 
since  the  rough  studs  are  always  set  two  inches  or  more  wider  on 
each  side  than  the  finished  opening  is  intended  to  be,  to  allow  for  the 
weights  and  lines  in  the  case  of  windows,  and  in  doors  to  admit  of  a 
little  play  in  setting  the  frames. 

After  all  the  mortises  for  the  studs  have  been  examined,  and  such 
corrections  as  are  found  necessary  made  on  the  spot  under  the 
superintendent's  eye,  those  intended  for  the  floor  timbers  should 
undergo  an  equally  rigid  inspection.  The  openings  for  staircases 
and  chimneys  will  almost  always  be  found  misplaced,  or  made  either 
too  large  or  too  small.  The  latter  is  much  the  worse  fault :  it  is 
possible  to  fill  up  an  excess  of  space,  but  too  small  an  opening, 
which  can  only  be  made  available  by  cutting  away  and  weakening 
the  trimmer-beams,  or  by  constricting  the  flues,  is  a  serious  misfor- 
tunt  When  these  tests  have  been  thoroughly  applied,  the  beams 
may  be  set  in  place.  In  most  cases  the  floor  rests  partly  on  girders, 
which  are  xarger  sticks,  generally  from  6"  x  10"  to  8"  x  12"  for  the 
light  strains  of  country  houses,  running  through  the  cellar  under  the 
"fore-and-aft"  partitions,  or  those  which  carry  the  floors  above,  and 
supported  by  brick  piers  in  the  cellar. 

Occasionally,  brick  walls,  eight  inches  thick,  and  pierced  with 
arches  for  communication,  take  the  place  of  the  girdersi,  but  without 


124 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


L    1 


\J 


I    T 


any  material  advantage,  unless  they  are  carried  up  to  the  under  side 
of  the  floor  boards,  in  which  case  they  serve  to  keep  the  floor  warm 
and  diminish  the  danger  from  fire,  by  intercepting  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  beams. 

If  girders  are  used,  special  attention  should  be  given  to  contriving 
the  framing  of  the  beams  into  girders  and  sills  so  that  the  shrinkage 
Euall  be  the  same  at  each  end.  This  point  is  almost  always  neglected, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  work,  which  begins,  a  year  or  two  after  the 
completion  of  the  building,  to  undergo  settlements  and  deformations, 
which  instead  of  being  inevitable,  as  is  usually  supposed,  might 
easily  have  been  avoided  by  a  little  care  at  the  commencement.  If, 
for  example  (Fig.  93), 
a  ten-inch  beam  is 
framed  at  one  end  by 
a  three-inch  tenon  into 
a  six-inch  sill,  all  flush 
on  top,  and  at  the  other 
end  is  "sized"  down 
one  inch,  without  mor- 
tising, upon  a  6  x  10 
girder,  the  total  height 
of  shrinkable  timber  be- 
tween the  floor  boards 
and  the  unyielding  ma- 
sonry will  be,  at  the  sill 
end,  6  inches,  and  at  the 

other  end  10  +  9  =  19  inches.  "Now  a  six-inch  timber  will  shrink  per- 
haps £  of  an  inch  in  drying,  while  at  the  same  rate,  19  inches  will 
shrink  some  f  of  an  inch,  and  after  a  year's  seasoning  the  inner  ends 
of  the  beams  will  thus  be  half  an  inch  lower  than  the  outer,  and 
the  floor  to  the  same  extent  out  of  level,  cracking  the  plastering  of 
the  walls  above,  distorting  the  door-frames,  so  that  the  doors  no 
longer  fit  their  places,  and  causing  ugly  dislocations  in  base-boards 
and  wainscotings. 

To  avoid  these  evils,  an  equal  height  of  timber  should  be  left 
at  each  end  between  the  flooring  boards  and  the  masonry.  If 
the  proper  mode  of  framing  into  the  sill  is  adopted  (see  Fig.  91), 
a  ten-inch  beam  will  have  a  six-inch  tenon  resting  upon  the  bot- 


93. 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


125 


torn  of  the  notch,  with  four  inches  of  the  wood  of  the  sill  between 
it  and  the  cellar  wall ;  in  all,  ten  inches  of  wood.  We  need,  there- 
fore, ten  inches  of  wood,  and  no  more,  between  the  brick  piers 
and  the  floor  boards  at  the  other  end.  But  if  the  girder  i3  ten 
inches  high,  this  will  furnish  the  whole,  with  none  to  spare  for 
projection  of  the  beam  above  it,  so  the  latter  must  be  framed 
into  the  girder  flush  with  its  top.  This  is  for  various  reasons  the 
best  way  of  framing  into  girders.  Not  only  is  it  advantageouj 
to  get  rid  of  their  projection  below  the  cellar  ceiling,  but  the  circu- 
lation between  the  beams  is  effectually  cut  off.  If  the  girder  is  of 
ample  strength,  it  may  be  notched,  say  five  inches  deep,  to  receive  a 


Fig.  94. 


Fig.  95. 


five-inch  tenon  on  the  beam  (Fig.  94),  but  the  best  mode,  preserving 
most  effectually  the  strength  both  of  girder  and  beam,  is  the  joint 
with  "  tenon  and  tusk "  (Fig.  95)  by  which  the  cutting  is  brought 
nearer  the  neutral  axis  of  the  girder,  while  the  tusk  tenon  allows 
the  joint  to  be  bored  and  pinned  from  above. 

As  it  would  be  difficult  to  lay  heavy  timbers  on  a  row  of  isolated 
piers  without  overturning  them,  the  girders  are  generally  held  in 
place  by  shores  set  beneath  them  until  the  floor  beams  are  all  on,  or 
sometimes  even  longer ;  and  the  piers  are  then  built  up  beneath  them. 
These  should  never  be  less  than  12"  x  12",  of  hard  brick,  laid  in  cem- 
ent mortar.  Piers  8"  x  8",  as  often  seen,  soon  bend,  while  those  of 
soft  or  "  pier"  brick  are  liable  to  be  worn  and  kicked  away  at  the 
foot.  The  proper  spacing  for  piers  depends  on  the  size  of  the 
girders,  and  the  load  upon  them,  but  should  not  be  over  8  feet,  for 
fear  of  deflection,  even  with  strong  timbers. 

In  the  Eastern  states,  the  next  step  always  is  to  lay  an  under-floor 
of  planed  hemlock  or  spruce  boards,  over  which  the  men  move  freely, 
while  it  forms  a  roof  to  the  cellar,  which  can  immedi-       der.F( 
ately  be   used   for   storage   of    tools   and   materials. 
\\1iether  this  is  done  or  not,  after  the  floor  is  made  practicable  for  the 


126 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


passage  of  workmen  across  it  the  large  posts  should  be  set  up  at 
the  angles,  and  at  the  intersection  of  interior 
partitions  with  the  outside  walls.  These  should 
be  4"  x  8",  at  least,  :even  in  a  "  balloon  "  frame, 
not  so  much  for  strength  as  to  give  good  nailings 
for  the  angles  of  interior  furrings,  wainscot  and 
base-boards  (Fig.  96). 
y  The  subsequent  steps  depend  upon  the  mode  of 

Fig.  96.  construction  adopted,  —  whether  a  "  balloon  "  or 

a  "braced"  frame  is  specified;  and  it  is  of  importance  to  the  young 


Rf.  97. 


architect  to  understand  thoroughly  the  nature  and  advantages  of 
each. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


127 


Supposing  a  "  braced  "  or  "  old-fashioned  "  frame  to  be  called  for, 
the  next  step  after  setting  the  corner  posts  firmly  into  their  mortises 
will  be  to  secure  them  in  their  upright  position  by 
means  of  the  braces  (Fig.  97),  which  have  been  pre-Braoed  Fram«- 
viously  fitted  to  mortises  cut  in  the  sill  and  post,  and  on  being 
inserted  and  a  hard-wood  pin  or  trenail  driven  through  the  hole,  hold 
the  post  fast.  The  shape  of  the  tenons  is  shown  in  Figure  98. 


Fig.  58 

While  setting  and  bracing  the  corner  posts,  which  always  extend  the 
whole  height  from  the  sill  to  the  plate  supporting  the  roof,  the  girts 
(G  and  D  G,  Fig.  97),  or  horizontal  timbers  which  tie  the  frame  at 
each  floor-level,  must  be  put  in  place.  In  a  simple  rect- 
angular frame,  like  the  one  shown  on  the  drawing,  two  Girts. 
of  these  will  run  parallel  to  the  floor  beams,  and  are  for  convenience 
generally  set  at  the  same  level  with  them.  The  other  two,  marked  D  G 
in  the  figure,  cross  the  ends  of  the  beams,  and  are  utilized  to  support 
them.  If  it  were  possible  to  continue  the  girts  all  around  at  the  same 
level,  the  beams  might  with  advantage  be  framed  with  tenon  and  tusk 
into  those  which  run  transversely  to  them,  in  the  same  manner  as  into 
the  girders  in  the  first  floor,  but  as  the  tenons  by  which  the  girts  are 


12b 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


framed  into  the  posts  would,  if  these  were  set  at  the  same  level,  inter- 
sect and  cut  each  other  off,  it  is  necessary  to  place  one  pair  entirely 
below  the  others.  The  latter  are  called  the  "dropped  girts,"  and  are 


Fig.  99. 

generally  arranged  so  that  the  floor-beams  may  be  notched  or  "  sized  " 
one  or  two  inches  down  upon  them.  (Fig.  99.) 

The  proper  joint  for  posts  and  girts  is  shown  in  Figure  100 
After  setting  these  and  pinning  them  securely, 
a  second  set  of  braces  should  be  put  in  to  tie 
the  angle  between  them  and  the  posts,  as  shown 

in  Figure  97,  using  the  same  form  of  mortises     

and  tenons  as  before.     A  third  set  is  then 

placed  in  the  angles  between  the  posts  and 

the  upper  side  of  the  girts.     All  these  pieces 

are  accurately  cut  and  fitted  before  any  of  the 

work  is  set  up,  so  that  when  inserted  in  their 

mortises,  and  the  pins  driven  home,  the  posts 

are  drawn  into  their  proper  position,  exactly  at  Fi*-  I0° 

right  angles  with  the  girts,  notwithstanding  the  bending  or  twisting 

which  the  heat  of  the  sun  often  causes  in  them  when  first  set  up ; 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


129 


Plate. 


and  are  thus  prepared  to  receive  the  plate,  which  will  not  fit  unless 
the  posts  are  accurately  parallel.  The  angles  of  the  plates  are 
halved  together  and  mortised  entirely  through,  so  as  to  receive 
a  long  tenon  left  on  top  of  the  posts  ;  and  to  facilitate 
this,  as  well  as  to  give  a  certain  lateral  stiffness  to  re- 
sist the  thrust  of  the  rafters,  it  is  common  to  make  the  plate  4"  x  6" 
or  4"  x  8",  and  lay  it  flatways.  If  the  roof  is  to  have  gables,  a  some- 
what simple  construction  is  used,  the  plate  which  receives  the  rafter 
first  being  framed  on  top  of  the  posts,  while  the  gable  is  supported 

by  a  sort  of  dropped  girt, 
tenoned  into  the  posts 
below  the  plate  proper. 
The  angles  of  posts  and 
plate  may  finally  be 
braced,  making  a  strong 
and  rigid  skeleton,  as 
shown  in  Figure  97,  upon 
which  the  rafters  can  be 
set  at  leisure,  and  the 
framework  of  the  side 
completed  with  "  filling- 
in"  studs,  set  at  a  suitable 
distance  for  nailing  the 
laths  inside,  and  the  clap- 
=.  boards  or  other  covering 


Fig'IOL  outside.    (Fig.  101.) 

The  principle  of  the  balloon  frame  is  totally  different,  and  although 
it  may  be,  as  is  claimed  for  it,  more  philosophical,  it 
is  far  inferior  to  the  braced  frame  in  many  important      Frames! 
respects. 

If  balloon  framing  were  specified  for  our  building,  the  next  step 
after  setting  the  corner  posts  would  be  to  secure  them  temporarily  in 
place  by  means  of  "  stay-laths,"  or  pieces  of  board  nailed  diagonally 
to  post  and  sill.  The  " filling-in  "studs  would  then  be  set  all  around 
the  building,  each  stud  in  this  system  extending  the  whole  height 
from  sill  to  plate.  The  best  carpenters  mortise  the  feot  of  the 
studs  into  the  sill,  but  this  is  frequently  omitted,  nails  being  simply 
driven  diagonally  through.  No  attempt  is  made  to  cut  the  pieces  to 


130 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE 


the  right  length,  and  their  upper  ends  present  for  a  time  an  appear 
ance  like  1'ig.  102.  To  straighten  them  boards  are  temporarily 
nailed  on  outside,  and  more  "  stay-laths  "  brace  the  studs  inward  to 
the  floor.  As  soon  as  the  building  is^o  far  advanced  as  to  admit  of 
climbing  safely  to  the  top  of  the  studs,  a  line  is  marked  with  a 
chalked  string  at  the  proper  height  for  the  underside  of  the  platef 

and  the  studs  are  cut 
off  at  that  level.  If 
any  prove  too  short, 
an  additional  piece 
is  set  on  top,  and 
"  fished  "  by  nailing 
a  bit  of  board  on  each 
side.  (Fig.  103.) 
When  all  are  brought 
to  the  line,  a  2"  x  4" 
or  2"  x  6"  timber  of  Fi£- I03< 
random  length  is  laid  on  top, 
and  spikes  driven  through  it 
into  the  top  of  each  stud. 
Other  similar  sticks  are  laid 
in  the  same  manner  until  the 
circuit  of  the  building  is  completed,  when  a  second  row  is  laid  on 
top  of  the  first,  breaking  joint  with  them,  and  overlapping  at  the 
angles.  (Fig.  104.) 

This  operation  brings  the  studs  to  a  vertical  and  parallel  position, 
but  provision  is  needed  for  supporting  the  floor-beams.  As  be- 
fore, no  notching  or  mortising  is  done 
before  setting  up  the  frame,  but  when 
all  the  studs  are  in  place,  the  chalked 
stilng  in  again  brought  into  requisition  to 
mark  upon  them  two  lines,  4  inches  apart,  F'g.  104. 

at  such  a  height  that  the  upper  one  will  be  an  inch  above  the  pro- 
posed level  of  the  underside  of  the  floor  beams.  Each  stud  is  then 
notched  one  inch  deep  between  the  lines,  and  a  "  ledger-board  "  or 
"  false  girt,"  consisting  of  a  strip  of  board  an  inch  thick  and  4  inches 
wide,  is  inserted  and  nailed  in  place.  (Fig.  105). 

This  gives  a  support  which  is  strong  enough  for  the  work  required 


l02* 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


131 


of  it,  but  excessively  slender  in  appearance,  and  liable,  if  fire  should 
get  into  the  spaces  between  the  studs,  to  be  quickly  burned  off,  per- 
haps letting  the  floors  fall. 

The  bracing  of  the  angles,  which  forms  an 
important  part  of  the  old-fashioned  framing, 


I  i  s  i 


Fig.  105. 


Fig.  106. 


Long  Bracing. 


is  entirely  omitted  by  most  carpenters  in  setting  balloon  frames,  so 
that  nothing  but  the  resistance  of  a  few  nails  prevents  the  building, 
as  the  outside  boarding  shrinks,  from  leaning  gradually  in  one  direc- 
tion or  another,  according  to  the  prevailing  winds.  (Fig.  106). 

This  may,  however,  be  pro- 
ve n  ted  by 
what  is  call- 
ed long  bracing  (Fig.  107), 
consisting  of  stout  strips 
set  flatways  their  whole 
depth  into  notches  cut  in 
the  studs  to  receive  them. 
The  notches  are  made  either 
on  the  outside  or  inside  of 
the  studs,  but  better  bracing 
can  be  had  by  placing  them 
outside.  A  spike  is  driven 
through  the  braces  into  each 
stud,  and  the  angles  are  thus 
very  strongly  tied,  but  at  the 
expense  of  strength  in  the  vertical  studding. 

By  these  very  different  modes  the  balloon  and  the  braced  fraro 


Fig.  107. 


132  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ing  accomplish  the  same  resuu,  the  construction  of  a  timber  skeleton 
bounded  by  sill,  plate  and  corner  posts,  and  included,  with  all  brac- 
ings, tenons  and  fastenings,  between,  two  planes,  4  or  5  inches  apart, 
as  the  case  may  be,  so  that'laths  can  bat-nailed  uniformly  all  over  the 
inner  surface,  and  boards  over  the  outside.  AH  the  subsequent 
steps,  until  the  completion  of  the  building,  are  the  same  for  either 
mode  of  construction.  The  design  of  the  edifice  is,  however,  some- 
what dependent  upon  the  mode  employed.  In  both  cases,  heavy 
studs  are  used  to  form  the  sides  of  window  and  door  openings,  in 
order  to  give  rigid  support  to  the  casings,  and  as  in  balloon  framing 
all  the  studs,  large  and  small,  extend  the  whole  height  of  the  build- 
ing, it  is  quite  desirable  to  place  the  windows  in  the  different  stories 
vertically  over  each  other,  so  that  one  pair  of  "  window  studs  "  may 
serve  for  two  openings ;  an.d  any  variation  from  this  direct  super- 
position involves  expense  or  weakening  of  the  portion  of  the 
structure  involved.  With  a  braced  frame,  the  main  posts  only  ex- 
tend to  the  plate,  all  the  filling-in  studs,  large  and  small,  terminating 
at  the  girts  ;  so  that  the  studding  of  one  story  is  completely  indepen- 
dent of  that  above  or  below  ;  an  important  consideration  where  any 
picturesque  irregularity  of  fenestration  is  to  be  attempted. 

As  soon  as  the  studding  of  the  walls  is  in  place,  the  outside  board- 
ing is  begun.  Hemlock  or  inferior  spruce  is  used  for  this  purpose, 
and  no  great  care  is  taken  to  lay  the  joints  close,  but 

Boarding.  t^e  boarjs  must  ^8  miH-planed  on  one  side  to  reduce 
them  to  an  even  thickness,  or  the  subsequent  shingling  or  clapboards 
will  not  lie  evenly.  While  this  is  going  on,  the  beams  of  the  second 
floor  are  to  be  set.  As  it  rarely  happens  that  the  beams  extend  in 
one  span,  from  the  girts  in  one  wall  to  those  opposite,  an  intermedi- 
ate support  must  be  provided  for  them,  consisting  generally  of  the 
head  of  some  interior  partition,  on  which  their  inner  ends  are  notched 
or  "  sized  "  down,  just  as  their  outer  ends  are  upon  the  dropped 
girts.  As  the  3"  x  3"  or  3"  x  4"  piece  which  forms  the  partition-head 
is  capable  of  withstanding  a  considerable  cross-strain,  it  is  unneces- 
Fdry  to  set  all  the  studs  under  it  at  first,  and  isolated  ones  are  usually 
put  in,  some  3  or  4  feet  apart,  in  order  to  allow  free  passing  between 
them.  The  second-floor  beams  can  then  be  immediately  laid  in 
place,  and  another  partition  in  the  story  above,  set  in  the  same  way, 
verves  for  supporting  the  third  floor. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  133 

The  notching  or  "  sizing  "  of  all  beams  upon  their  horizontal  sup- 
ports is  made  necessary  by  their  inequality  in  size.  Ordinary  tim- 
bers often  vary  one-fourth  to  --  «,  •--.  -  -»-  -  ••••••» •- «  ••••-••• 

one-half  an   inch  from  their      | | |      B      ]      B      |      8    x. 

specified  dimensions,  but  by      2 i 

notching  them  to   a  uniform  F'g.  '08. 

distance  from  the  top  they  will,  when  laid  in  place,  have  their  upper 
sides  level  ready  to  receive  the  floor.  (Fig.  108.)  The  undersides 
will  be  uneven,  but  the  subsequent  cross-furring  will  conceal  this. 

It  is  very  common,  but  not  judicious,  to  set  the  studs  of  all  interior 
partitions  either  on  the  under-floor  or  on  a  horizontal  piece  resting 
upon  the  beams.  If  the  inner  ends  of  a  tier  of  floor- 
beams  are  supported,  as  is  usually  the  case,  by  a  parti- 
tion  extending  from  the  basement,  these  ends  will  be  equal  Settle- 
subject  to  a  settlement  equivalent  to  the  sum  of  the 
shrinkage  of  all  the  horizontal  pieces  interposed  between  the  under- 
side of  the  beams  in  question  and  the  immovable  supports  at  the 
bottom  of  the  partition;  in  this  instance,  the  brick  piers  in  the 
basement.  If  the  partition  studs  stand  on  the  beams,  with  a  2"  x  4' 
"  sole "  interposed,  a  partition  extending  from  the  cellar  piers 
to  the  floor  of  the  third  story  will  be  interrupted  by  the  baso- 
ment  girder,  first-story  beams,  sole  of  partition,  cap  of  the  same,  sec 
ond-story  beams,  and  another  sole  and  cap,  in  all,  from  SO  to  40 
inches  of  horizontal  timber,  the  shrinkage  of  which  in  such  a  position 
would  be  from  one  to  two  inches.  The  outer  ends  of  the  same  third- 
story  beams  will  rest  upon  the  framing  of  the  outside  wall,  which 
would  with  a  balloon  frame,  in  which  the  studs  are  continuous,  pre- 
sent only  a  six-inch  sill  and  one  four-inch  ledger-board  of  shrinkable 
timber  between  them  and  the  immovable  basement  wall.  The 
shrinkage  of  this  10  inches  of  horizontal  wood  would  amount  to  less 
ihan  half  an  inch,  so  that  when  the  wood-work  became  fully  dried, 
which  in  our  furnace-heated  houses  is  in  a  year  or  two,  the  inner 
ends  of  the  third-story  beams  would  be  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half 
below  their  outer  ends.  Such  a  difference  in  level  is  quite  sufficient 
to  cause  cracking  of  the  plastered  walls  in  the  second  and  third 
stories,  and  to  distort  the  openings  in  the  cross  partitions  (Fig.  109), 
so  as  to  make  the  doors  fit  badly,  and  "  bind,"  or  require  to  be  trim- 
med, or  the  hinges  "  set  up  "  to  adapt  them  to  the  altered  shape. 


OF  THE 


134 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


These  phenomena,  which  every  one  has  observed  in  city  as  well  a? 
country  houses,  depend  solely  upon  the  unequal  shrinkage  and  conse- 
quent settlement  of  the  two  vertical  structures  by  which  the  opposite 
ends  of  the  beams  are  supported,  and  can  be  avoided  by  any  device 
which  shall  make  the  settlement  the  same  at  both  ends.  In  wooden 

houses  this  may  be  ap- 
proximately a  c  c  o  m  - 
plished  by  setting  the 
studs, —  not  on  the  floor 
or  on  the  beams,  but 
between  the  latter  and 
on  the  same  support,  so 
that  the  beams  cease  to 
form  a  part  of  the  ver- 
tical frame.  The  studs 
of  the  first-story  parti- 
tions will  then  stand  on 
the  girders,  extending 
thence  to  the  underside 
of  the  second-story 
beams  which  rest  upon  their  cap.  The  studs  of  the  second-story  par- 
titions again,  instead  of  standing  on  the  floor,  or  on  a  sole-piece,  will 
extend  down  between  the  beams  to  the  cap  of  the  first-story  par- 
tition (Fig.  110).  By  this  arrangement  there  will  be,  supposing  the 
height  of  the  girder  to  be  10  inches,  and  that  of  the  partition  caps  3 
inches,  16  inches  only  of  shrinkable  wood  in  the  partitions  between 

the  basement  piers  and  the  underside  of  the  third-story 
Settlement  ...       .    .        ,  , 

In  Balloon     beams,  and  the  difference  of  level  after  drying  between 

Frames.  their  inner  and  their  outer  ends,  supposing  these  to  be 
supported  by  balloon  frame,  would  be  about  f  of  an  inch  instead  of 
three  or  four  times  that  amount,  as  in  the  case  previously  described. 
It  is  desirable  to  avoid  even  this  inequality  if  possible,  and  as  it  is 
evidently  impracticable  to  diminish  the  amount  of  horizontal  timber, 
and  consequent  settlement,  in  the  interior  partitions,  it  will  be  advan- 
tageous to  increase  that  in  the  outer  walls.  As  the  height  of  the 
sill  is  fixed,  the  aggregate  shrinkage  can  only  be  increased  by  add- 
ing to  the  width  of  the  horizontal  timbers  on  which  the  upper  beams 
rest.  With  a  balloon  frame  nothing  can  be  gained  in  this  way,  since 


Fig.  109. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


135 


the  ledger-board  must  be  nailed  to  the  studs,  and  the  free  portion 
between  the  nails  and  the  upper  edge  of  the  board  is  alone  capable 
of  affecting  the  beams  by  its  shrinkage  ;  and  with  such  frames  an  un- 
equal settlement  is  practically  inevitable.    The  braced 
r  \  -        i      i  •  i       •  4     8ettl«-nent 

frame,  however,  sustains  the  beams  upon  a  wide  girt,     in  Braced 

resting  on  the  corner   posts  by  its   lower    edge,   so      Framtm, 
that  the  whole  effect  of  the  shrinkage  tends  to  make  the  upper  edge 
descend,  and  with  it  the  beams  which  ms,y  rest  upon  it. 

A  braced  frame,  therefore,  with  a  six-inch  sill  and  a  ten-inch 
dropped-girt,  upon  which  the  beams  of  the  third  story  are  "*ized 
down  in  the  same  manner  as  on  the 
partition-heads  supporting  their  other 
ends,  will  give  sixteen  inches  in  verti- 

n 


Fig.  1 1  0. 


Fig.  1 1  I. 


cal  height  of  shrinkable  timber,  and  supposing  the  girders  and  par- 
tition-heads to  be  as  before,  the  settlement  at  both  ends  of  the  beam* 
will  be  the  same,  and  the  floor  will  remain  perfectly  level,  the  door- 
frames square,  and  the  plaster  probably  unbroken,  for  an  indefinite 
period. 

The  partitions  which  extend  from  the  first  floor  through  two  or 
more  stories,  even  though  no  beams  rest  upon  them,  as  in  the  case  of 
those  running  parallel  with  the  beams,  should  be  set  in  the  same 
way,  the  studs  in  the  upper  story  resting  on  the  cap  of  the  partition 
below  ;  not  for  the  sake  of  lessening  the  shrinkage,  which  would  in 
this  case  do  no  harm,  but  to  relieve  the  floor-beams  from  the  weight 
of  the  partition  by  making  the  support  continuous  from  the  base- 
ment girder  upward ;  and  partitions  enclosing  stairs  should  be  simi- 
larly constructed. 

Besides  these,  there  will  usually  be  some  partitions,  especially  in 
the  second  story,  which  have  no  corresponding  partition  below. 
These  must  be  supported  on  the  beams.  The  simplest  way  of  set- 
ting them  is  to  lay  the  sole  directly  upon  the  under-flooring,  where  its 
position  can  be  accurately  marked ;  and  the  st  le  may  with  advantage 


139 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


he  5£  or  5|  inches  wide,  so  as  to  project  beyond  the  stud  on  each  side 
by  an  amount  equal  to  the  thickness  of  the  plastering.    In  the  subse- 
quent finishing  this  projection  will  be  of  great  service  for  keeping  the 
base-boards  firmly  in  their  proper  position,  and  for  mailing  them  at  the 
lower  edge  if  required  (Fig.  111.)    Where  the  partition  runs  parallel 
with  the  beams,  it  is  common  to  provide  in  the  framing  plans  for  a 
timber  of  extra  size,  or  two  timbers  spiked  together,  under  it,  to  give 
the  extra  support  required.   A  better  way  is  to  set  two 
Bpartmons.er  beams  equidistant  from  the  centre  line  of  the  parti- 
tion, seven  or  eight  inches  apart  from  centres,  instead 
of  close  together  (Fig.  112.)     The  same  strength  will  be  obtained, 


Fig.  lit. 


Fig.  I  I  3. 


and  there  will  be  opportunity  for  a  solid  nailing  at  the  ends  of  the 
floor-boards  that  abut  against  the  partition,  which  cannot  be  had 
by  the  other  method  (Fig.  113.)  For  the  same  reason,  the  framing- 
plans  should  always  show  a  beam  placed  close  against  outer  walls 
and  partitions  extending  from  below.  A  floor  where  the  ends  of  the 
boards,  for  want  of  these  precautions,  are  secured  only  to  the  thin 
under-flooring  soon  acquires  an  uneven  and  slovenly  look. 

The  first  studs  of   the  partitions  are  usually  set,  and  the  floors 
Li  idged,  before  the  roof  is  begun.     In  the  short  spans  usual  in  coun- 
try  houses,  this  construction  is  a  matter  of  little  diffi- 
culty.    Where  support  is  needed,  it  is  generally  ob- 
tained by  carrying  up  the  partitions  which  extend  from  the  firm 
foundation  in  the  basement,  and  heavy  trusses  and  purlins  are  rarely 
necessary,  the  weight  being  equally  distributed  over  all  the  rafters, 
whicL  may  be  tied  with  "  collars  "  of  plank  where  required.     At  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  137 

same  time,  the  form  of  .such  roofs  is  often  very  complex,  and  the 
framing-plans  should  be  carefully  and  clearly  drawn.  Every  ridge, 
valley  and  hip  must  be  marked  in  plain  letters,  and  the  lengths  of 
hip,  valley,  common  and  jack  rafters  should  be  calculated  and  writ 
ten  on  the  drawings.  Without  these  precautions,  the  architect  is 
very  likely,  during  the  framing,  to  find  a  hip  substituted  for  a  valley, 
or  vice  versa,  and  not  infrequently,  either  by  accident  or  design,  the 
height  of  a  picturesque  roof  will  be  materially  lessened  without  con- 
sulting the  designer,  who  does  not  discover  until  too  late  the  reason 
why  its  appearance  in  execution  is  so  disappointing. 

The  covering-in  of  the  building  gives  the  signal  for  a  multitude  of 
minor  operations,  the  principal  among  which  is  the  construction  of 

the   chimneys,   which   should  be   commenced  at  the 

,  ,         Chimneys. 
earliest  practicable  moment,  in  order  to  avoid  delay 

in  finishing  the  roof.  The  bricks  furnished  for  this  work  should  be 
rigidly  inspected.  As  the  chimneys  in  frame  houses  are  usually 
plastered  outside  as  fast  as  built,  in  order  to  lessen 
the  danger  of  sparks  passing  through  the  joints  of  the 
masonry  among  the  furrings,  the  opportunity  for  using  soft,  half- 
burnt  bricks  without  detection  is  unusually  favorable,  and  the  young 
architect  should  look  sharply  to  see  that  none  of  that  kind  are 
allowed  to  be  delivered  on  the  ground.  For  the  purpose  of  aiding 
the  meaner  builders  to  impose  bad  materials  upon  their  employers,  it 
is  common  at  the  brick-yards  to  denominate  the  half-burnt  material 
from  the  outside  of  the  kilns  "  chimney  brick,"  "  pier  brick,"  or 
"  place  brick."  The  name,  however,  does  not  change  the  quality, 
and  any  work  containing  bricks  whose  edges  can  be  crumbled  by  the 
fingers  should  be  pulled  down  at  once,  and  rebuilt  with  better  mate- 
rials. Unless  this  is  done,  no  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  ma- 
sonry ;  the  piers  are  liable  to  be  broken  away  and  bend,  and  chimneys 
may  crack  open  at  any  moment  after  being  enclosed  by  furring. 

We  suppose  that  the  position  and  size  of  all  the  openings  made  in 
the  floors  for  the  passage  of  the  chimneys  have  been  carefully  veri- 
fied long  before.  If  not,  this  should  be  done  without  delay.  Masons 
rarely  think  of  questioning  the  accuracy  of  the  carpenters  work, 
and  whenever  they  find  an  opening  framed,  they  suspend  pluirb-lines 
from  its  four  corners  and  commence  laying  bricks  between  them; 
and  to  tbtt  ondlees  mistakes  made  by  the  inferior  workmen  who  an» 


138 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


employed  in  framing  they  add  others  of  ,their  own.  One  fertile 
source  of  errors  is  a  want  of  some  common  understanding  in  regard 
to  the  system  of  figuring  plans.  Most  architects,  unless  very  expe- 
-ienced,  figure  all  horizontal  dimensions  in  wooden  buildings  from 
the  nearest  surface  of  the  studs ;  thus,  a  fire-place  in  the  middle  of 
one  side  of  a  room  16'  long  in  the  clear  would  generally  be  figured 
as  8'  1"  from  the  inside  of  the  studs  to  its  centre.  Nearly  all 
framers,  however,  measure  to  the  outside  face  of  outside  studding, 
although  interior  dimensions  are  taken  to  the  nearest  face ;  and  the 
workman  will  probably  set,  his  trimmer-beams,  or  lay  out  his  chimney, 
by  measuring  the  figured  distance  on  a  ten-foot  pole  thrust  between  the 
studs  against  the  outside  boarding,  the  point  thus  falling  four  inches 
short  of  the  place  intended ;  and  the  mistake,  if  discovered,  is  very 
likely  to  be  rectified  by  shifting  the  chimney  over  bodily,  and  rest- 
ing it  upon  the  trimmer-beam.  It  is  safest  in  any  case  to  figure  the 
openings  in  floors  two  or  three  inches  wider  on  the  framing-plans 
than  they  are  actually  intended  to  be.  This  gives  a  little  lee-way  for 
contingencies,  and  it  is  always  easy  to  fill  out  an  excess  of  room  by 
nailing  pieces  to  the  timbers,  while  the  cutting  away  of  beams  to  gain 
necessary  space  should  be  avoided. 

All    flue-doors,   ash-doors,   stove-rings   and  ventilating    registers 
should  be  marked  on  the  plans, 
and  inserted  as  the  work  goes  on. 
If    left    for    subsequent    cutting 
they  are  sure  to   be    forgotten. 
Rings    for  furnace    smoke-pipes 
should  never  come  within  sixteen 
inches  of  the  cellar  ceiling.      All 
flues  must  be  closed  at  the  bot-     — . 
torn,   and  kept    separate  to  the  Fi*'  ' ' 4- 

top.  Bad  workmen  often  leave  them  open  at  the  bottom  into  the 
ash-pit,  or,  where  two  flues  run  side  by  side,  omit  the  partition,  or 
"  with,"  in  the  lower  part.  In  either  case  the  draught  is  spoiled. 

The  withs  should  be  four  inches  thick,  and  at  least 
"chimneys'    once  in  every  eight  courses  in  ordinary  chimneys  they 

should  be  bonded  by  two  bricks  roughly  mitred  with 
the  stretchers  of  the  walls.  (Fig.  114.)  Without  this  precaution, 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  enforce,  the  with  forms  a  mere  tongue  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


139 


Flues. 


superposed  bricks,  standing  upright  in  the  rectangular  shaft  of  cbe 
chimney,  and  held  in  place  only  by  the  feeble  adhesion  of  the  mor- 
tar, so  that  it  not  unfrequently  loses  its  balance  and  bends  over,  stop- 
ping up  the  adjoining  flue.  Tics  of  tin  or  hoop-iron  laid  in  the 
joints  are  sometimes  used  to  sustain  the  withs,  but  the  other  bond  is 
better,  particularly  in  tall  chimneys,  where  a  thorough  interlocking  of 
the  withs  with  the  walls  adds  very  greatly  to  the  strength  of  the  diaf  t. 
Stacks  of  irregular  plan,  (Fig.  115),  can  be  better  bonded  than 
those  of  the  common  form,  and  are  much  stronger.  If  carried  up 
smooth  and  nearly  straight,  without  twisting  or  constriction  in  any 
part,  an  8"  x  8"  flue  is  ample  for  any  stove  or  ordinary  hot-air  fur- 

nace,  and  is 

sufficient 

for  an  open  fireplace  of 
moderate  size ;  but  the  dan- 
ger of  some  obstruction  is 
so  great  that  it  is  prudent 
to  provide  the  latter  with 
8"  x  12"  flues  where  prac- 
ticable. 

Fireplaces  are  usually 
roughly  formed  during  the 
construction  of  the  chim- 
ney, to  be  subsequently 
lined  with  soapstone  or 
brick,  but  if  the  latter  ma- 
terial is  to  be  used,  it  is 
better  to  finish  the  whole 


Fig.  1 1  5. 


Fireplaces. 


at  once  and  cover  it  up  with  boards  to  prevent  injury 

during  the  progress  of   the  work.     By  this  method 

there  will  be  no  danger  of  settlements  and  open  joints  between  the 

rough  work  and  the  lining,  through  which  sparks  may  reach  the 

space  behind  the  furrings.    Wrought-iron  chimney-bars  must  be  used 

u,  support  the  brickwork  above  each  fireplace  opening.     Two  inches 

by  haii  an  inch  is  the  usual  size,  and  two  bars  should 

en  i  m  ney-BarSi 
be  used.     The  whole  support  should  be  given  by  the 

bars,  without  any  assistance  from  arches,  which  are  liable  to  spread 
and  split  the  masonry.     The  depth  and  form  of  fireplaces  depend  on 


140 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


the  use  to  which  they  are  to  be  put.  Small  hard-coal  gvates  are  often 
set  with  only  a  four-inch  recess  in  the  masonry,  the  front  of  the  grate 
projecting  three  or  four  inches  beyond  the  face  of  the  wall,  and  work 
very  well  so  if  the  draught  is  good,.,but  eight  inches  is  better,  and 
soft  coal  or  wood  need  at  least  twelve  inches  depth.  The  "  splay  " 


Fig.   116. 


or  bevel  to  be  given  to  the  sides  should 
conform  to  that  of  the  grate,  if  one  is  to 
be  subsequently  inserted,  and  as  they  are 
made  with  various  angles,  the  choice  should 
be  made  before  the  fireplace  is  begun.  If 
this  has  not  been  done,  a  splay  of  seven  and 
a  half  in  twelve  does  very  well,  and  will  fit 
many  grates.  (Fig.  116.)  In  vertical  sec- 
tion, the  back  of  the  fireplace  should  be  built 
up  plumb  about  six  courses,  and  then  in- 
clined forward,  making  the  throat  of  the 
chimney  about  two  inches  wide  (Fig.  117),  finishing  with  a  level 
surface,  of  cut  bricks,  about  six  inches  above  the  line  of  the  chim- 
ney bars.  By  this  narrowing  of  the  throat  the  hot  gases  are  con- 
centrated, and  the  draught  much  improved,  while  the  level  surface 
at  the  foot  of  the  flue  checks  and  repels  any  downward  current,  in- 
stead of  deflecting  it  forward  into  the  room.  In  laying  out  the  fire- 


Fig.  117. 


Fig.  1 1 8. 


places,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  they  must  project  from  the 
general  surface  of  the  chimney  at  least  as  far  as  the  line  of  the  plas- 
tering. If  the  chimney  is  furred  with  2"  x  4"  studs,  set  flatways,  and 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


141 


one  incb  clear  of  the  masonry,  and  then  lathed  and  plastered,  the 
plaster  surface  will  be  four  inches  in  front  of  the  brickwork  (Fig. 
118),  and  if  the  facings  of  the  fireplace  are  brought  out  to  this  point, 
a  mantel  which  is  flat  on  the  back  can  be  used.  Most  marble  man- 


tels, however,  and  some  wooden  ones,  are  constructed  'o  allow  of  a 
further  projection  of  four  inches  beyond  the  plaster  line  (Fig.  119), 
so  that  a  choice  should  be  made  as  early  as  possible.  The  superin- 
tendent must  watch  the  construction  of  the  flues  assiduously,  as  the 
only  means  of  making  sure  that  they  are  smooth  and  uniform  in 
size.  Whether  they  shall  be  "  pargeted,"  or  plastered  inside  with  mor- 
tar, depends  upon  circumstances  as  well  as  on  local  custom.  There 
is  some  danger  that  the  pargeting  may  scale  off  and  fall  into  the 
flue,  dragging  with  it  the  mortar 
from  the  joints  of  the  brickwork, 
so  as  to  open  a  passage  for  sparks» 
and  for  this  reason  the  practice  is 
forbidden  in  some  places,  but  if  the 
mortar  contains,  as  is  advisable, 
half  as  much  cement  as  lime,  and 
the  brickwork  is  kept  wet,  pargeting 
may  be  safely  used,  and  certainly  as- 
sists in  giving  smoothness  and  con- 
tinuity of  surface  to  the  flue. 

In  regard  to  plastering  the  outside 
of  the  chimney,  there  is  no  difference 


of  opinion,  and  where  it  is  to  be  sub-  ~ 
sequently  concealed  by  furring,  the 
superintendent  must  insist  upon  its 
being  thoroughly  covered  from  the 
basement  floor  to  the  underside  of 
the  roof  boarding. 

The  "  topping  out "  of  the  chimney,  above  the  roof,  should  be  done 
with  mortar  containing  equal  parts  of  lime  and  cement.    Unless  thus 


**L 


112 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


made  waterproof,  every  rain  will  saturate  the  mortar,  dissolving  and 
loosening  it  until  the  whole  stack  begins  to  lean  toward  the  windward 
side,  and  then  speedily  decays.  For  the  same  reason  the  four  upper 
courses  should  be  laid  in  clear  cement;  unless  a  stone  or  iron  cap  is 
used.  Nothing  else  will  long  withstand  the  disintegrating  action  of 
rain,  added  to  that  of  the  acid  vapors  from  the  burning  fuel.  No 
overhanging  projection  in  the  shape  of  a  base  should  be  allowed 
where  the  chimney  leaves  the  roof.  (Fig.  120).  In  the  inevitable 
settlement  of  the  whole  stack  the  upper  portion  will  be  caught  upon 
the  rafters,  and  the  remainder  sinking  away  from  it,  a  dangerous 
Beam  will  be  opened  just  above  the  boarding. 

Even  before  the  chimneys  are  started,  the  cross-furring  of  the 

ceilings  will  begin.     For  this  planed  strips  are  used  12  inches  apart 

from   centres,   two  inches  wide,  and  $  or  1^  inches 

thick,  the  latter  for  three  coat  plastering.     It  is  of 

great  importance  to  get  these  truly  level,  to  prevent  inequalities  in 

the  finished  ceiling.    Ordinary  carpenters  try  the  strips  with  a  straight 

edge  as  they  nail  them  to  the  beams,  hacking  away  a  little  from  one 

beam  and  filling  up  a  de- 
ficiency in  another  by  means 
of  a  chip,  until  an  approxi- 
mately even  surface  is  obtain- 
ed ;  but  a  much  better  way  is 
to  notch  all  the  beams  for  the 
furring  strips  before  putting 
them  on,  gauging  from  the 
upper  side  in  the  same  way 
as  in  sizing  upon  the  partition 
boards  or  girts.  After  cross- 
furring,  the  setting  of  the  par- 
titions is  finished,  those  that  need  it  are  trussed,  so  as  to  throw  the 
weight  upon  firm  points  of  support,  and  small  trusses  are  put  over  all 
openings  in  the  partitions. 

The  trussing  of  partitions  should  be  studied  beforehand,  and  indi- 
cated on  the  framing  plans,  so  that  doors  can  be  arranged  without 
cutting  off  the  braces.  Trusses  over  openings  should  be  framed  like 
Figure  121.  The  dimensions  and  position  of  all  the  doors  and  par- 
titions should  now  be  thoroughly  verified.  No  dependence  whatever 


'21. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


143 


can  be  placed  on  the  care  of  workmen  in  these  respects,  and  the 
proportions  of  the  plan  are  very  likely  to  be  hopelessly  mangled  un* 
less  a  rigid  watch  is  kept.  The  door  openings  must  be  framed  about 
5  inches  wider  and  two  inches  higher  than  the  finished  door,  to  allow 
of  proper  blocking ;  and  the  distance  from  the  angles  of  the  room  to 
the  openings  must  be  verified  to  insure  symmetry,  if  that  is  intended; 
and  sufficient  space  should  be  allowed  for  the  architraves. 

After  all  is  made  correct,  the  partitions  may  be  bridged.  This  is 
often  done  by  nailing  in  short  horizontal  pieces  between  the  studs; 
a  process  which  has  its  use,  but  is  valueless  for  the 
present  purpose.  The  proper  way  is  to  cut  in  diago- 
nal  pieces  (Fig.  122),  which  present  a  considerable 
resistance  to  the  sagging  of  the  partition.  The  final  operation  will 
be  to  try  the  partitions  on  each  side  with  a  straight  edge,  and  cor- 
rect the  crooked  studs  by  sawing  half  through  them  on  the  concave 
side,  forcing  them  into  place,  and  driving  wedges  into  the  incision. 
The  chimneys  are  next  enclosed 
with  furring,  consisting  of  a  cage 
of  studs,  supported  by  posts  at  the 
angles  of  the  breast.  These  fur- 
rings  should  be  measured  to  see 
that  they  are  accurately  placed  in 
the  room,  that  they  are  of  the 
proper  dimensions,  and  that  the 
fireplace  comes  accurately  in  the 
middle  of  them ;  such  details  be- 
ing little  regarded  by  the  average 
framer.  Nothing  now  remains  but 
the  fixing  of  the  grounds  to  prepare 
the  inside  of  the  house  for  lathing  and  plastering.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, various  other  mechanics  have  been  busy  inside  the  building,  and 
the  work  of  finishing  the  outside  has  gone  continuously  on.  Every 
hot-air  pipe,  gas,  drain  and  water-pipe,  bell-tube,  speaking-tube  and 
electric  wire  which  is  not  intended  to  appear  outside  the  plastering 
must  be  fixed  in  place  during  the  short  interval  which 
elapses  between  the  completion  of  the  studding  and 
the  commencement  of  the  lathing.  If  the  plans  are  prepared  with 
any  care,  the  po  dtion  and  size  of  all  hot-air  pipes  will  be  indicated 


Fig.  122. 


144  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

on  them,  but  so  much  thought  is  required  in  arranging  them  to  the 
best  advantage  that  the  superintendent  should  study  the  plans  for 
himself,  in  season  to  suggest  changes  if  circumstances  render  them 
desirable. 

The  proper  size  of  the  pipes  depends  upon  the  form  of  heating- 
apparatus  employed,  and  this  should  therefore  be  selected  as  early 
as  possible.  Most  persons  make  contracts  for  furnace  pipes  and 
registers  complete,  but  if  the  pipes  are  put  in  separately  it  must  be 
remembered  that  heaters  with  small  radiating  surface,  like  most  of 
the  wrought-iron  furnaces,  deliver  air  at  a  very  high  temperature,  but 
can  deal  only  with  a  small  current,  and  therefore  work  better  with 
few  and  small  pipes  and  registers,  while  the  best  cast-iron  furnaces 
as  well  as  a  few  forms  in  wrought-iron,  and  all  indirect  steam  and 
hot-water  heating  apparatus,  possess  a  large  radiating  surface,  and 
therefore  warm  a  much  greater  volume  of  air  in  a  given  time,  but  to 
a  lower  temperature,  so  that  larger  pipes  are  necessary  to  convey 
an  adequate  supply  of  heat  to  the  rooms.  As  the  only  fresh  air  sup- 
ply in  winter  is  derived  from  the  registers,  it  follows  that  better  ven- 
tilation is  obtained  by  the  introduction  of  a  copious,  but  moderately 
warm  current  than  from  a  small  admixture  of  very  hot  air,  but  the 
latter  is  the  cheaper  mode,  in  consumption  of  coal  as  well  as  in  the 
first  cost  of  the  apparatus. 

With  heaters  of  large  radiating  surface,  the  pipes  to  the  principal 
first-story  rooms  should  not  be  less  than  1 2  inches  in  diameter,  and 
9  or  10  inch  pipes  should  supply  the  larger  chambers ;  but  for  those 
consisting  of  a  mere  cylinder  of  wrought  or  cast  iron,  9-inch  pipes  are 
large  enough  for  the  ground-floor,  and  6  or  7  inch  for  upper  rooms. 
Inexperienced  architects  and  house-owners  often  make  the  mistake 
of  putting  in  too  many  pipes  and  registers.  Every  unnecessary 
one,  by  the  leakage  at  the  dampers  and  the  chilling  of  the  exposed 
pipe,  interferes  with  the  working  of  all  the  others,  and  many  houses 
are  almost  uninhabitable  in  cold  weather,  with  a  register  in  every 
room,  which  would  be  quite  comfortable  with  half  the  number  judi- 
ciously arranged. 

Wherever  possible,  the  hot-air  pipes  should  run  through  closets  or 
inferior  rooms,  exposed  to  view,  but  it  is  usually  necessary  to  carry 
up  some  behind  the  furring  of  chimney-breasts,  or  even  in  partitions. 
This  involves  danger  of  fire,  which  must  be  guarded  against.  Where 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  145 

the  pipt,s  pass  through  the  floors,  a  tin  ring,  flanged  over  floor  and 
ceiling,  is  usually  inserted,  through  which  the  hot-air  pipe  runs,  leav- 
ing half  an  inch  air-space  all  around ;  and  through  the  whole  of  its 
course,  all  wood-work  exposed  to  the  radiation  from  it  should  be 
covered  with  pieces  of  bright  tin.  Specifications  for  furnace-work 
generally  require  all  wood  within  two  inches  of  the  pipe  to  be  so 
protected,  but  this  will  rarely  be  faithfully  done  in  contract  work 
unless  the  supervision  is  very  close.  A  much  better  way  is  to  have 
all  the  pipes  which  are  to  be  concealed  behind  wood-work  made 
double,  a  space  of  half  an  inch  or  so  being  left  between  the  outer 
and  inner  cylinders,  through  which  air  circulates  freely.  Where  the 
pipes  are  carried  up  in  partitions  without  such  protection,  heavy  wire 
lath  should  replace  wood  over  them. 

Of  tho  plumber's  work,  only  a  small  part  will  generally  need  to  bo 
done  before  plastering.     Although  supply-pipes  are  now  generally 
planned  to  run  outside  the  walls,  in  positions  where 
they  can  be  easily  reached,  iron  waste  and  ventilation 
pipes   are   often   best   carried  up  in  partitions,  and 
these  must  be  set  in  place  in  time  to  avoid  subsequent  cutting  of  the 
plaster,  so  that  the  plumber  should  be  notified  in  season. 

Gas-piping  must  be  all  completed  before  the  lathing  can  com- 
mence, and  will  need  vigilant  watching.     Careless  and  stupid  in 

regard  to  the  work  of  others  as  plumbers  are  apt  to    „ 

J   .        Gas-Piping. 
be,  the  cheap  gas-fitters  far  surpass  them  in  capacity 

for  botching  their  own  work  and  destroying  that  of  others.  If  the 
plan  shows  two  or  three  rooms  en  suite,  with  a  centre  light  in  the 
ceiling  of  each,  the  workman  will  generally,  if  the  superintendent  is 
out  of  sight,  proceed  to  take  up  a  board  through  the  middle  of  the 
floor  above,  and  notch  the  entire  tier  of  beams  from  one  to  six 
inches  deep  in  the  middle  of  their  span,  weakening  the  floor  danger- 
ously and  irreparably;  or  short  cuts  will  be  taken  in  a  similar  man- 
ner across  girders,  braces,  or  anything  else  that  may  happen  to  be 
in  the  way.  All  good  specifications  stipulate  that  no  beam  shall  be 
notched  at  a  greater  distance  than  two  feet  from  the  bearing,  whore 
the  cutting  down  does  not  materially  affect  the  strength,  and  that  all 
centre-lights  shall  be  supplied  by  branch  pipes  at  the  proper  poinfs 
but  irresponsible  journeymen,  unless  watched,  pay  little  regard  to 
such  documents. 


146  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

Care  must  also  be  taken  to  see  that  all  pipes  are  laid  with  a  con- 
tinuous fall  toward  the  meter,  as  otherwise  they  may  be  choked  by 
liquid  condensed  from  the  gas  ;  and  the  position  of  all  centre-lights 
and  brackets  should  be  verified.  No  pains  will  generally  be  taken 
to  have  them  accurately  placed,  so  long  as  they  come  within  a  few 
inches  of  their  proper  position,  unless  the  men  are  strictly  looked 
after,  and  annoying  difficulties  are  likely  to  be  encountered  in  conse- 
quence when  the  ceiling  is  decorated.  The  height  of  fhe  bracket 
cutlets  from  the  floor  will  also  generally  be  varied  to  save  the  work- 
man the  trouble  of  cutting  his  pipe,  rather  than  with  a  view  to  their 
appearance  or  use.  The  proper  height  for  bracket  outlets  in  cham- 
bers is  4  feet  10  inches  from  the  top  of  the  under  floor ;  in  halls  and 
first-story  rooms,  5  feet  7  inches  is  the  rule.  Mirror  lights  should 
have  outlets  8  feet  from  the  floor. 

Even  if  the  outlets  are  properly  placed,  it  is  usually  too  much 
trouble  for  the  workman  to  cut  the  nipples  of  the  right  length,  or  to 
make  their  direction  normal  to  the  surface  from  which  they  project, 
and  consequently  the  fixtures,  after  the  house  is  completed  and  paid 
for,  will  be  found  "to  take  all  sorts  of  unexpected  angles  with  walls 
and  ceilings,  which  can  only  be  remedied  by  hanging  the  chandeliers 
with  ball-and-socket  joints,  or  bending  the  nipples,  at  the  imminent 
risk  of  causing  a  bad  leak.  The  proper  time  to  make  sure  of  this 
point  is  while  the  work  is  going  on.  A  straight  piece  of  pipe,  a  foot 
or  more  in  length,  and  of  the  proper  calibre,  should  be  screwed  upon 
each  nipple,  as  soon  as  set,  and  carefully  levelled  and  plumbed,  and 
tested  with  a  carpenter's  square.  If  any  deviation  from  the  true 
position  is  observed,  it  should  be  rectified  before  the  inspection  of  the 
pipes  by  the  mercury  gauge,  so  that  any  leaks  caused  by  the  correc- 
tion may  be  detected.  All  bends,  tees,  and  other  fittings  for  gas- 
pipe  under  two  inches  in  diameter  should  be  specified  to  be  of  mal- 
leable iron,  which  admits  of  a  little  bending,  and  this  is  often  the 
easiest  way  to  bring  the  pipes  back  to  place.  The  nipples,  or  short 
pieces  of  pipe  which  project  through  the  plastering  and  receive  the 
fixtures;  should  all  be  cut  to  the  right  length,  so  that  they  may  pro- 
ject not  more  llian  1^  or  less  than  f  of  an  inch  beyond  the  finished 
plastering,  allowing  for  the  projection  of  the  "  bud,"  or  middle  portion 
of  the  plaster  centre-piece.  It  saves  trouble  —  to  the  gas-fitter,  — 
10  utilize  waste  bits  of  miscellaneous  lengths  for  tho  purpose,  so 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  147 

that  it  is  generally  necessary,  after  the  house  is  done,  to  dig  some  of 
the  nipples  out  of  the  plaster  in  which  they  are  buried,  and  to  re- 
place others  of  inordinate  length  by  pieces  of  proper  size ;  at  the 
risk  in  both  cases  of  detaching  the  centre-pieces  or  causing  leaks 
within  the  walls  or  ceilings. 

After  the  pipes  are  all  in  place,  their  whole  extent  should  be  ex- 
amined, to  make  sure  that  no  split  or  defective  pipe,  made  tempora- 
rily tight  with  putty  or  red  lead,  forms  a  portion  of  the  system.  This 
once  ascertained,  the  caps  are  to  be  screwed  on,  and  the  pipes  in- 
spected by  the  mercury  gauge,  which  will  always  be  done  on  a  re- 
quest left  at  the  office  of  the  company  which  will  supply  gas  to  the 
house.  To  one  of  the  outlets  is  attached  a  manometer  tube,  or  in- 
verted siphon,  with  the  short  leg  closed,  filled  with  mercury.  Air  is 
then  pumped  into  the  pipes  until  the  mercury  stands  at  a  given 
height  in  the  tube,  and  the  whole  left  over  night.  The  next  morn- 
ing, if  the  mercury  column  remains  at  the  same  height,  the  piping  is 
pronounced  tight.  The  superintendent  should  witness  this  process, 
and  satisfy  himself  of  the  result,  instead  of  taking  the  word  of  the 
gas-fitter  in  regard  to  it. 

Bell-wires  should  always  run  in  zinc  tubes,  which  are  sometimes 
fastened  to  the  outside  of  the  laths,  and  buried  in  the  plastering,  but 
are  much  better  run  between  the  studs.     Their  position  should  be 
verified,  or,  if  not  marked  on  the  plans,  determined 
with  reference  to  the  furniture  which  will  occupy  the 
rooms.     Nothing,  in  a  layman's  eyes,  does  more  discredit  to  an  archi- 
tect than  to  find  gas  outlets  situated  behind  doors,  or  bell-pulls  so 
placed  that  a  bed  or  dressing-case  must  inevitably  come  in  front  of 
them. 

Electric  bells,  which  are  very  generally  used  instead  of  the  or- 
dinary kind,  require  only  wires,  which  need  not  run  through  tubing, 
but  are  simply  fixed  to  the  studs  by  means  of  staples.  With  them 
should  be  put  any  other  wires  which  may  subsequently  be  needed  to 
conduct  electrical  currents,  such  as  those  for  burglar  alarms,  electric 
gas-lighting,  or  the  electric  light  itself. 

While  these  operations  are  going  on  inside,  the  outside  finish  has 
been  rapidly  advancing,  so  that  the  whole  building  may  be  so  far  as 
possible  tight  against  rain  by  the  time  the  interior  is  given  up  to  the 
plasterers.  The  gutters  are  first  put  on,  and  the  shingling  or  slating, 


148 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Cutters. 


beginning  at  the  eaves,  is  carried  to  the  top.  Care  should  be  taken 
that  the  gutter  is  so  placed  as  to  catch  rainwater,  but  allow  snow  to 
slide  over  it.  (Fig.  123.)  Young  architects  often  find 
their  detail  drawings  for  cornices  defective  in  this  par- 
ticular. For  additional  pro- 
tection against  snow-water 
backing  up  under  the  shingles, 
or  the  overflow  of  the  gutter 
dribbling  through  behind  the 
cornice,  the  gutter  should  be 
ploughed  at  top  and  bottom, 
and  "  facias  "  inserted  as 
shown  in  the  figure.  The  shin- 
gling or  slating 
Shingles.  °  .°  ... 

begins  with    a 

double  course,  and  the  gauge 
is  then  marked  off  regularly  to 
the  top.  Ordinary  shingles, 
sixteen  inches  long,  should  not 
show  more  than  four-and-a-half 
inches  to  the  weather,  unless 
on  very  steep  roofs.  The 

thick  Michigan  pine  shingles,  eighteen  and  twenty  inches  long,  can 
be  laid  with  much  more  projection  without  fear  of  breaking  or  curl- 
ing. Each  must  be  nailed  with  two  nails,  which  should  be  galvanized 
if  a  very  permanent  roof  is  desired.  Common  nails  rust  out  long 
before  good  shingles,  well  painted,  become  unserviceable. 

It  is  easy  to  judge  of  the  quality  of  shingles.  Freedom  from  knots 
and  cross  grain,  and  an  approximation  to  uniform  width,  are  the 
principal  requisites.  Spruce  shingles,  which  are  unfit  to  use  in  any 
but  inferior  buildings,  are  easily  distinguished  by  their  appearance 
and  smell,  which  differ  completely  from  the  aromatic  odor  and  silky 
grain  of  the  "  white  cedar,"  or  arbor-vitas  wood,  from  which  those 
in  ordinary  use  are  made.  Pine  shingles  are  of  a  special  size,  and 
those  of  the  Virginia  cypress,  which  have  the  reputation  of  being 
everlasting,  are  somewhat  costly,  and  have  but  a  limited  market. 
The  choice  between  sawed  and  shaved  shingles  depends  upon  cir- 
cumstances. The  latter  allow  water  to  run  off  more  freely,  and  are 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


149 


to  be  preferred  if  unpainted,  while  the  former  hold  paint  better,  and 
are  therefore  generally  used  by  architects. 

In  laying,  the  widest  shingles  are  selected  for  the  hips  and  val- 
leys, where  cutting  is  necessary,  in  order  to  give  room  for  two  nails. 
(Fig.  124.)  Many  of  the  best  carpenters  lay  hips 
like  Fig.  125,  so  that  the  cut  shingle  will  not 


Fig.  124. 


Fig.  125. 


come  at  the  extreme  edge,  and  the  effect  is  picturesque,  while  the 
durability  of  the  roof  is  improved. 

The  painting  of  a  shingle  roof  is  important.     Many  architects 
specify  that  each  shingle  shall  be  dipped  in  paint,  some  even  requir- 
ing the  paint  to  be  hot ;  but  this  is  tedious  and  expen- 
sive.    A  simpler  and  very  good  way  is  to  paint  each     shingles! 
course  as  it  is  laid ;  and  the  cheapest  is  to  do  it  all 
at  once  after  the   roofers  are  out  of  the  way.     The  last   process 
rather  hastens  the  decay  of  the  shingles,  by  forming  little  dams  of 
paint  which  hold  back  the  rain-water  against  the  unprotected  por- 
tions, but  is  usually  adopted. 

Where  shingles  are  to  be  used,  the  roof  boarding  is  generally  of 
hemlock  or  inferior  spruce,  planed  to  an  even  thickness,  and  one  or 
two  "  plies  "  of  tarred  felt  are  laid  under  the  shingles,  to  prevent 
fine  snow  in  heavy  storms  from  finding  its  way  into  the  rooms.  With 
slates  still  greater  precaution  is  necessary,  and  the  tarred  felt  should 
not  only  be  double  with  all  joints  well  broken,  but 
matched  pine  boards  should  be  used  underneath.  The 
"  lap  "  of  the  slates  will  vary  according  to  the  size.  Ten  inches  by 
twenty,  or  eight  by  sixteen  are  generally  used,  and  for  the  best  work 
should  be  laid  with  "  three-inch  lap  " ;  that  is,  each  slate  should  lap 
three  inches  beyond  the  head  of  the  second  slate  below,  (Fig.  126), 
and  the  length  of  the  exposed  portion  will  be  found  by  deducting  the 
lap  from  the  whole  length  of  the  slate,  and  dividing  the  remainder  by 


Slating. 


150  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

two.  Two  inches  lap,  is  however,  common.  The  slates  should  be 
put  on  with  galvanized  nails,  not  driven  too  hard,  for  fear  of  break- 
ing them,  nor  too  little,  lest  they  should 
rattle  and  blottr  off  in  high  winds,  and 
the  cut  slates  at  the  hips  should  be 
watched  to  see  that  they  are  not  hung 
by  one  nail.  Patent  slating  nails,  which 
have  a  circle  of  japanned  tin  around  the 
head,  are  useful.  The  flashings  should 
last  be  looked  after,  and  the  roof  will 

Fig.  126. 

then  be  complete. 

If  the  young  architect  is  ambitious  of  being  able  to  say  that  no  roof 
built  under  his  superintendence  ever  leaked,  he  will  need  to  exercise 
both  thoroughness  in  inspection  and  skill  in  providing 
'for  various  contingencies.  The  worst  leaks  come  from 
improper  position  of  the  gutters,  by  which  wet  snow  sliding  from  the 
roof  is  caught  and  held  back.  It  soon  freezes  to  the  roof  along  the 
lower  edge,  the  upper  portion  remaining  free,  and  the  water  subse- 
quently running  down  the  slope  is  caught  as  in  a  long,  deep  pocket, 
in  which  it  rises  rapidly  until  its  level  reaches  that  of  the  upper  edge 
of  a  course  of  slates  or  shingles,  over  which  it  pours  in  a  sheet,  to  find 
its  way  into  the  rooms  below.  Next  to  this  defect  insufficient  flashing 
in  valleys  is  perhaps  the  worst.  As  metal  is  expensive,  the  roofer's 
interest  is  to  save  as  much  of  it  as  possible,  and  the  superintendent 
must  consider  the  circumstances  of  pitch  and  extent  of  roof  surface 
draining  into  the  valley,  and  the  slope  of  the  valley  itself  which  should 
determine  the  depth  which  the  water  will  probably  obtain  in  it.  In 
certain  cases,  where  the  roofs  are  large,  this  may  be  eighteen  inches 
or  more  in  summer  showers,  and  the  only  security  is  to  make  the  val- 
ley flashings  of  corresponding  size. 

A  very  common  place  for  a  small  leak  is  around  the  chimneys, 
where  rain  or  snow  often  blow  through  between  the  bricks  and  the 
flaps  of  a  "  stepped  flashing."  The  remedy  is  a  liberal  application 
of  elastic  or  "  Boston  "  cement  between  the  brickwork  and  the  metal. 
The  same  cement  is  also  needed  to  prevent  water  from  getting  in  at 
the  angle  of  a  hip  in  a  slated  roof,  unless  the  hip  is  protected  by 
flashings  (See  Part  I,  page  80.)  This  should  always  be  the  case 
where  a  permanent  construction  is  intended,  since  the  cement  soon 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


151 


Window 
Frames. 


Fig.  127. 


''  burns  out "  and  crumbles  by  the  heat  of   the  sun  on  the  slates. 
Shingles  fit  much  more  closely,  and  will  generally  make  a  tight  hip 
without  cement  or  metal. 

While  the  roofers  are  at  work,  the  window 
frames  are  being  rapidly  set  in 
place.  These,  in  wooden  houses, 
are  mere  fronts,  in  plan  like 
Fig.  127,  A  being  the  "pulley-style,"  grooved 
for  the  parting  head,  while  B  is  the  outside 
casing.  When  this  is  put  in  place  and  nailed 
to  the  rough-boarding,  the  space  X,  between  the  pulley-style  and  the 
stud,  forms  the  pocket  for  the  weights. 

The  casing  B  is  often  moulded  or  ornamented.  If  plain,  it  should 
be  1^  inches  thick,  to  prevent  curling  under  the  heat  of  the  sun.  It3 
inner  edge,  projecting  half  an  inch  beyond  the  face  of  the  pulley-style, 
is  usually  made  to  form  one  side  of  the  channel  in  which  the  upper 
sash  slides,  but  it  is  much  better  to  increase  the  depth  of  the  reveal 
by  inserting  a  slip  C1,  some  five-eighths  or  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
wide,  changing  the  position  of  the  parting-bead  to  correspond. 
Independent  of  the  improved  appearance  of  such  a  frame,  room  is 


Fig.  128. 


Fig.  129. 


Fig.  130. 


thus  given  for  mosquito-nets  and  blinds.  The  shingles  or  clapboards 
are  laid  close  up  to  the  other  edge  of  the  casing,  but  when  this 
shrinks  a  vertical  opening  is  left,  through  which  rain  penetrates, 
and  tarred  felt,  or  still  better,  strips  of  zinc,  must  be  laid  in 
behind  the  casing  and  the  adjacent  work.  The  junction  of  the  clap- 
boards or  shingles  with  the  top  of  the  casing  must  also  be  protected. 
Some  carpenters  do  this  by  tacking  a  strip  of  lead  to  the  boards  just 


152  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

over  the  casing,  and  turning  it  down  over  the  edge  (Fig.  1 28),  but 
it  is  neater  and  tighter  to  rebate  the  top  of  the  casing.  (Fig.  129.) 
If  this  is  done,  and  the  vertical  sides  of  the  casing  are  grooved 
into  the  head  (Fig.  130),  the  sills  set*  to  a  sharp  pitch,  one-and-a- 
half  inches  or  so,  and  grooved  underneath  for  inserting  the  shingles 
or  clapboards  which  come  below  them,  the  superintendent  may  be 
\olerably  sure  that  his  building  will  not  show  that  most  annoying 
af  defects,  leakage  around  the  edges  of  the  openings,  and  the  shin- 
gling or  clapboarding  may  be  commenced  at  once. 

Before  this,  however,  the  back-plastering,  if  any  is  specified, 
should  have  been  completed,  in  order  that  its  drying  may  be  favored 
by  the  circulation  of  air  through  the  open  joints  of  the  boarding; 

and  notice  must  be  given  to  the  plasterers  in  ample 
Back-Piaster-  season>  ^he  mode  usually  considered  best  is  to  nail 

fillets  to  the  sides  of  the  studs,  and  to  lath  on  these,  so 
that  in  theory  a  double  air-space  is  formed  by  the  outside  boarding, 
the  sheet  of  back-plastering,  and  the  inner  plaster ;  but  in  practice 
it  is  inconvenient  to  nail  fillets  in  the  narrow  space  between  the 
ledger  boards  and  the  outer  boarding  of  a  balloon  frame,  or  just 
above  the  dropped-girt  of  a  braced  frame,  and  still  more  so  to  nail 
laths  to  them,  so  that  these  spaces  are  usually  neglected,  and  the 
wind  which  blows  in  under  the  clapboards  and  paper  of  even  the 
best  built  house  finds  an  issue  at  such  points  into  the  interior.  The 
real  object  should  be  to  spread  a  continuous  sheet  of  mortar  from 
eill  to  plate,  and  this  can  be  much  better  accomplished  by  omitting 
the  fillets,  and  nailing  two  lines  of  laths  vertically  between  each  pair 
of  studs,  then  lathing  on  these,  and  plastering  with  a  thick  coat  of 
mortar,  well  pressed  on,  so  as  to  fill  in  between  the  laths  and  the 
boarding.  By  this  method  room  is  left  for  the  mason  to  insert  his 
trowel  and  hand  behind  the  ledger-boards  or  flooring-strips  and 
reach  every  inch  of  the  space  between  the  studs,  closing  it  against 
the  wind,  if  care  is  taken  to  bring  the  mortar  well  up  on  the  studs, 
with  almost  the  imperviousness  of  a  solid  brick  wall. 

The  meaner  contractors,  not  in  consequence  of  scientific  deduc- 
tion, but  from  desire  of  gain,  often  caricature  this  mode,  by  lathing 
vertically  directly  on  the  boarding,  without  the  interposition  of  the 
first  laths,  which  are  essential  to  give  a  key  to  the  mortar,  and  pre- 
vent it  from  cracking  off.  Some  even  content  themselves,  if  not 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


153 


Fire-Stops. 


observed,  with  simply  spreading  the  mortar  on  the  boards,  without 
any  lathing  whatever.  It  stays  in  place  just  about  long  enough  for 
the  contractor  to  get  his  pay. 

As  soon  as  the  back-plastering  is  done,  it  is  usual  in  good  houses 
to  apply  some  precautions  against  the  spread  of  fire  and  the  passage 
of  rats  and  mice  from  room  to  room.  In  the  cellar, 
the  whole  space  between  the  beams,  from  the  sill  to 
the  inner  surface  of  the  wall,  should  be  filled  in  solid  with  I  rick- 
work  and  mortar  (Fig.  131),  up  to  the  under  side  of  the  floor-boards. 
This  not  only  keeps  out  the  cold  wind  which  would  otherwise  blow 
freely  through  the  chinks  about  the  sill  and  the  base-mouldings  of 
the  house,  but  renders  it  impossible  for  rats  and  mice  to  climb  on  top 
of  the  wall  and  gnaw  their  way  through  the  floor  above.  If  the 
cellar  ceiling  is  not  plastered,  the  space  above  the  girders  should  be 
bricked  up,  for  the  same  reason  ;  and  in  any  case  a  brick  partition, 
at  least  four  inches  thick,  should  be  built,  in  mortar,  on  top  of  every 
girder,  between  the  studs  of  the  partition  which  rest  on  it,  and  on 
the  heads  of  all  partitions  above  which  cross  the  beams,  to  a  height 
of  two  or  three  inches  above  the  floor.  By  this  means  the  hollow 
spaces  between  the  ceilings  and  floors  are  divided  up  into  compart- 
ments, effectually  cutting  off  the  circulation  of  cold  air  through  the 
floors  which  is  so  much  to  be  feared  in  country  houses,  while  fire  ia 
prevented  from  spreading  laterally  between  the  beams.  It  is  very 
desirable  also  to  fill  in  with  brickbats  and 
mortar  between  the  studs  of  ail  partitions, 
at  about  half  the  height  of  the  room.  This 
"  fire-stop "  belt  may  be  laid  on  top  of  the 
bridging,  and  will  check  the  upward  course 
of  fire,  forcing  it  to  burn  out  into  the  open 
room,  where  it  will  be  discovered  and  means 
applied  for  extinguishing  it.  The  principle 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of,  that  the  chief 
danger  from  fire  in  dwelling-houses  comes 
from  allowing  it  to  find  its  way  into  the 
wooden  tubes,  lined  with  bristling  splinters, 
nearly  as  inflammable  as  tinder,  which  are 
formed  by  the  interior  surfaces  of  the  laths,  studs,  beams  and  floor- 
ing-boards. In  these  the  flames  creep,  undiscovered  and 


154  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

gible,  through  and  through  a  house  in  which  no  device  is  adopted  for 
intercepting  the  communication  between  such  air-spaces,  until  they 
gain  strength  enough  to  burst  out  fiercely  in  a  dozen  places  at  once, 
and  the  building,  already  permeated  iqrtill  directions  by  the  fire,  is 
quickly  destroyed. 

To  carry  out  the  system  of  protection  with  any  thoroughness,  the 
spaces  between  the  outside  studs  must  also  be  divided  into  sections  by 
incombustible  material.  WilL  braced  frames  this  can  very  well  be 
done  by  means  of  brickwork  laid  upon  the  girts,  but  for  balloon 
frames  it  is  necessary  to  nail  in  short  pieces  of  timber  between  the 
studs  at  the  level  of  the  ledger  boards,  to  build  upon.  A  good  body 
of  masonry  should  then  be  formed  on  top  of  the  plate,  filling  the 
whole  space  between  the  rafters  to  (Le  anuer  side  cf  the  roof-beards. 
This  is  an  invaluable  defence  against  cold  air  as  weh  as  fire,  both  of 
which  usually  find  the  cornice  a  very  vulnerable  feature. 

One  other  point  remains  to  be  guarded  :  the  hollow  space  around 
the  chimneys,  behind  the  furring  of  the  breasts.  The  easiest  way 
of  obtaining  a  partial  protection  is  to  lath  and  plaster  the  ceiling  from 
the  chimney  outward  as  far  as  the  breast  will  extend,  before  setting 
the  furrings.  A  single  rough  coat  only  need  be  used,  and  it  can 
be  put  on  at  the  same  time  as  the  back-plastering,  so  as  not  to  cause 

any  delay.     If  stout  wire-lathing  is  used   instead  of 
Wire-Lath.         *        ,/ 

the   ordinary  kind,  and   especially  if  the  mortar  is 

"gauged"  with  a  liberal  dose  of  plaster-of-Paris,  a  very  efficient 
protection  is  obtained  for  the  portion  of  the  building  most  exposed 
to  danger. 

Where  the  owner  is  disposed  to  incur  a  small  extra  expense  for 
the  sake  of  additional  safety,  wire-lath  will  be  found  generally  of 
great  service.  Only  the  heaviest  kind  should  be  used,  as  the  numer- 
ous furrings  necessary  to  secure  the  more  flexible  varieties  detract 
very  much  from  its  value  as  a  protection  against  fire.  By  applying 
it  to  the  surface  of  chimney-breasts  and  the  under  side  of  the  stairs, 
great  security  is  gained  for  the  building,  at  a  trifling  expense,  and  it 
may  be  employed  also  in  the  ceilings  and  walls  about  furnaces  and 
stoves.  Where  it  is  necessary,  as  it  will  sometimes  be,  to  carry  hot- 
air  pipes  in  partitions,  the  lathing  over  them  should  always  be  of 
wire,  unless  the  pipes  are  made  double,  or  a  casing  of  bright  tin  put 
all  around  them  on  the  wood-work  and  under  the  laths  before  plas- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


15D 


tering.  By  first  nailing  laths  vertically  on  the  studs,  the  wire  can 
be  brought  to  the  same  plane  as  the  wooden  laths  on  each  side,  and 
the  plastering  will  form  an  unbroken  surface.  Even  the  cost  of 
using  wire-lath  throughout  a  dwelling-houpe  is  in  many  ways  repaid. 
Its  power  of  holding  the  mortar  so  firmly  that  no  amount  of  force 
will  detach  it,  to  which,  far  more  than  to  its  incombustible  material, 
it  owes  its  efficiency  in  resisting  fire,  is  equally  valuable  in  maintain- 
ing a  perfect  surface  for  walls  and  ceilings.  Such  plastering  does 
not  crack  or  sag ;  no  violence  can  shake  it  down,  and  the  most  pro- 
1  jnged  water-soaking  fails  to  detach  it  from  the  lathing. 

Whether  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of  these  precautions  shall 
be  adopted  will  depend  on  circumstances.     If  wooden  laths  are  to  be 
used  for  the  plastering,  the  superintendent  should  see 
that  they  have  the  requisite  number  of  nailings,  and 
are  :\ot  placed  too  near  together.    Three-eighths  of  an 
inch  is  the  proper  distance :  if  nearer  together  the  mortar  will  not 
be  effectually  pressed  through  the  intervals,  and  its  hold  will  be  fee- 
ble :  if  farther  apart,  it  will  not,  while  soft,  sustain  its  own  weight. 
It  is  usual  to  specify  that  the  joints  shall  be  broken  every  six  courses ; 
but  it  is  much  better  and  not  much  more  troublesome 
to  break  jointn  at  every  course :  and  care  should  be        j^nt"5 
taken  that  the  laths  above  the  door  and  window  heads 
extend  at  least  to  the  next  stud  beyond  the  jamb  (Fig.  132),  so  as  t? 


Fig.  132. 


Fig.  133. 


prevent  the  radiating  cracks  which  are  apt  to  appear  at  that  point 
Where  the  men  meet  with  a  small  space,  whose  longest  direction  is 
perpendicular  to  that  of  the  other  lathing,  they  are  apt  to  fill  it  up 
with  laths  set  at  right  angles  with  the  rest.  (Fig.  133.)  This  should 


156  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

never  be  permitted,  as  cracks  are  sure  to  appear  afterward  where 
the  change  of  direction  takes  place. 

After  the  application  of  the  laths,  if  not  before,  the  furrings  should 
be  verified.  The  soffits  of  dormer  windows,  the  under  side  of  stairs, 
and  all  angles  of  walls  and  ceilings  should  be  carefully  observed  to 
see  that  their  surfaces  are  plane.  Chimney-breasts  should  be  tried 
with  a  carpenter's  square,  to  make  sure  that  their  external  and  in- 
ternal angles  are  right  angles,  and  the  position  of  the  chimney-breasts 
ir.  the  room  should  be  finally  examined.  All  laths  which  show  knots, 
portions  of  bark  or  stains  should  be  pulled  off  on  the  spot  and  thrown 
away,  and  their  places  supplied  with  fresh  ones,  as  such  imperfec- 
tions in  the  laths  are  liable  to  cause  discoloration  in  the  plaster  over 
them ;  and  for  the  same  reason  all  brickwork  which  is  to  be  plas- 
tered should  be  cleared  from  soot,  tobacco  juice  or  soluble  defile- 
ments. 

At  least  seven  days  before  the  lathing  is  finished  all  the  mortar 
for  the  first  coat  of  plastering  should  have  been  mixed  and  stacked  ; 
if  possible  in  some  place  outside  the  house,  since  the  evaporation 
from  so  large  a  mass  of  wet  material,  if  stored,  as  is  often  done,  in 
the  cellar,  causes  the  timbers  to  swell  through  dampness.  The  lime 
must  be  of  the  best  quality,  free  from  every  trace  of  underburnt 
"core."  If  the  lumps,  on  being  covered  with  water,  slake  for  a  time 
with  considerable  violence,  but  leave  a  residue  which  must  be 
crushed  by  the  hoe,  the  whole  should  be  rejected.  Such  lime,  unless 
it  can  be  stored  long  enough  to  insure  this  conversion  of  every  por- 
tion not  absolutely  inert,  will  surely  cause  the  plastering  made  from 
it  to  blister  and  "  chip-crack,"  sometimes  after  the  lapse  of  month>; 
and  with  the  best  lime  it  is  unsafe  to  put  the  mortar  on  the  wall  un- 
til it  has  "  cooled  "  for  a  week  or  more,  to  allow  all  the  particles  iu 
become  hydrated.  The  ancient  method,  by  which  the  slaked  lime 
was  stored  in  pits  and  not  drawn  upon  for  use  until  after  one  or  two 
yoars'  seasoning,  unfortunately  has  become  obsolete. 

Loamy  sand  is  nearly  as  much  to  be  dreaded  in  plastering  as 

unJerburnt  lime.     Some  varieties  contain  particles  of  compact  clay 

or  soil  which  will,  after  a  season's  drying,  assume  a 

powdery  condition,  expanding   as   they  do   so,  and 

throwing  off  the  mortar  in  hundreds  of  little  pits,  like  the  scars  of 

small-pox.     Moistening  the  sand  and  rubbing  it  on   the  hands  will 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  157 

usually  give  sufficient  evidence  of  the  presence  of  loam  or  clay  by  the 
Btaiu  which  it  leaves  on  the  skin. 

After  seeing  that  the  mortar  is  well  pushed  through  the  laths  with 
the  trowels,  so  as  to  bend  over  on  the  inside,  the  straightness  of  the 
angles,  both  vertical  and  horizontal,  between  walls  and  ceilings  should 
be  assiduously  criticised.     In  two-coat  work,  such  as 
is  used  throughout  the  Eastern  States  for  dwelling- 
houses  of  moderate  cost,  there    is  no  opportunity  for  bringing  the 
surfaces  to  a  true  plane  after  the  first  coat  is  on,  since 
the  second  or  "  skim  coat  "  is  a  mere  varnish,  less  than 
£  of  an  inch  in  thickness;  and  the  plasterer  must  use  his  judgment 
in  layir£  on  just  mortar  enough  to  fill  out  to  the  line  after   it  has 
been  trowelled  down  enough  to  force  it  well  through  the  laths.    This 
can  seldom  be  done  with  any  accuracy  over  the  larger  surfaces,  but 
by  applying  the  long,  thin-edged  board  which  is  used  to  finish  against 

the  angle  beads   as  a  ruler,  any  reasonably  careful 

.  ,  „    .     Straight-edge, 

man  can  insure  the  straightness  and  accuracy  of  the 

corners,  ami  this  should  be  insisted  upon,  as  the  eye  immediately 
detects   any  irregularity   in   the   angle   between  walls,  or  between 
the  wall  and   ceiling,  while   inequalities  of   the  intermediate   por- 
tions are  unnoticed.     With  three  coats  it  is  easy  to  obtain  surfaces 
absolutely  plane,  by  using  the  proper  means.     The         Three 
scratch-coat  is  to  be  very  strongly  trowelled  and  well    Coat-work. 
scratched  up  with  a  sort  of  comb,  made  of  sharpened  laths,  nailed 
in  a  row  on  a  stick.     After  this  is  thoroughly  dry,  "  screeds  "  should, 

for  a  first-class  job,    be  run  all  around   the  margin 

-  Scratch-Coat. 

of  the  ceiling,  consisting  of   strips  of   mortar,  care- 
fully put  on,  and  brought  to  a  perfectly  plane  and  horizontal  surface 
by  means  of  the  spirit  level  and  a  long  straight  edge,  applied  diag- 
onally across  the  corners  as  well  as  along  each  strip. 
For  a  small  ceiling  this  will  be  sufficient,  but  a  large 
one  requires  intermediate  screeds,  brought  accurately  to  the  plane 
of  the  first  ones.     When  the  screeds  have  hardened  a  little,  the 
space  between  them  is  filled  with  "brown  "  mortar,  which  is  easily 
made  perfectly  even  by  means  of  the  straight-edge.    Similar  screed* 
should  be  formed  in  the  vertical  angles  of  the  room,  plumbed,  and 
the  intermediate  spaces  filled  up  to  a  plane  surface.     If  cornices  are 
to  be  run,  which  is  always  done  before  the  last  coat  >>l  plastering 


158  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  angles  snould  be  as  rough  as  possible,  to  give  them  sufficient 

"  key."    The  superintendent  should  study  the  profile 

Cornices.     Q£  tjie  prOpqsed  mouldings,  and  if   a  large  mass  of 

mortar  will  be  left  in  the  angle,  he  should  order  nails  to  be  driven 

to  hold  up  the  coarse  mortar  which  is 
used  for  "  dubbing  out  "  the  cornice 


ng.  ISC*T  before  the  finer  material,  is  applied. 

(Fig.  134.)  Some  care  is  necessary  to  see  that  the  final  coat 
of  plastering  is  not  injured  by  freezing  in  winter  or  by  too 
rapid  drying  in  summer.    From  the  latter  cause  the  finished 
work  near  the  windows  is  often  found  covered  with  a  net- 
work of  minute  cracks,  particularly  on  the  side  which  the 
wind  strikes,  while  a  breeze   barely  at  the  freezing  point 
cover  the   surface  with  radiating  crystals,  disintegrating  it  so 
*Jhat  on  thawing  again  the   mortar  will   scale  off  in  patches.     The 
remedy  for  this  is  to  keep  all  openings  protected  by 
temporary  windows  or  screens,  consisting  of  wooden 
frames    covered    with    cotton  cloth,   well    fitted  to  the  openings. 
Whether  the  plasterer  or  the  carpenter  shall  provide  these  screens 
or  temporary  windows  depends  on  the  terms  of  their  respective 
specifications.     Perhaps  the  best  way  is  to  require  the  carpenter  to 
suppl}'  and  fit  them,  and  the  plasterer  to  shift  them  in  such  a  way 
as  to  secure  his  work  against  freezing  or  unequal  drying. 

As  soon  as  the   plastering  is  completed,   the  plumber  must  be 
summoned  to  finish  his  work,  so  as  not  to  delay  the  joinery.     The 
pipes  will   be   first   put  up,   and    the   superintendent   must    thor- 
oughly understand  the  purposes  and  requirements  of 
Plumbing.          °,    '  •.«.., 

each.    Cast-iron  pipes  should  be  carefully  scrutinized, 

especially  where  cut  or  broken.  The  metal,  unless  double-thick 
pipes  are  specified,  will  be  very  light,  and  in  the  poorer  makes  it  is 
apt  from  careless  casting  to  be  much  thinner  on  one  side  than  the 
other.  If  any  particular  kind  is  called  for,  or  known  to  be  good,  the 
shape  of  the  "  hub  "  will  serve  to  distinguish  it,  if  the  name  of  the 
maker  is  not  cast  upon  the  pieces.  In  some  places  iron 
pipes  are  coated  with  asphaltum  at  the  factory,  for  the 
use  of  the  best  plumbers;  the  inside  as  well  as  the  outside  being  treated. 
Elsewhere, painting  with  red  lead  is  customary;  and  this  is  generally 
confined  to  the  outside,  as  the  inside  would  soon  lose  its  coating.  The 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE.  1-9 

asphaltum  forms  the  best  covering,  but  whatever  is  used,  the  exterior 
of  the  pipes  must  be  completely  coated  before  they  are  brought  to 
the  building.  The  joints  should  be  made  with  oakum,  not  paper  or 
shavings,  driven  in  tight,  and  finished  with  melted  lead,  which,  a,  \er 
the  pipes  are  fixed  in  position,  is  to  be  thoroughly  calked  all  around. 
It  is  often  much  more  convenient  to  calk  the  joint  befcie  securing 
the  pipes  in  place;  but  the  jarring  so  occasioned  may  looten  the  lead, 
and  where  the  joint  will  be  accessible  after  fixing  its  completion 
should  be  deferred.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  melted  lead 
by  itself  will  not  make  a  tight  joint,  since  the  shrinkage  of  the  metal 
in  cooling  draws  it  away  from  the  iron,  and  it  must  be  forced  again 
into  contact  with  the  calking  iron,  applied  at  every  point  of  the  cir- 
cumference. A  first-class  workman  will  use  three  or  four  pounds  of 
lead  for  each  joint,  filling  the  hub  completely,  arid  showing  the 
marks  of  the  tool  all  around.  Inferior  plumbers  leave  a  little  space 
above  the  lead,  which  they  afterwards  fill  up  with  putty,  smoothing 
it  neatly,  and,  if  possible,  getting  a  coat  of  paint  over  it  before  the 
superintendent  comes.  Such  joints  will  pass  the  test,  but  are  not 
durable  if  there  has  been  any  carelessness  in  calking  the  lead.  In- 
tentional swindlers  fill  the  joint  with  shavings,  paper,  mortar  or  any- 
thing else  which  happens  to  be  at  hand,  and  daub  the  top  over  with 
putty,  or  perhaps  with  a  little  lead,  ladled  out  of  the  pot. 

Rust  joints,  of  sal-ammoniac  and  iron  turnings,  are  sometimes, 
though  rarely,  used.  They  are  said  to  be  tight  and  durable,  but 
likely,  if  unskilfully  made,  to  burst  the  hub  by  the  expansion  of  the 
mass.  All  iron  pipe  should  be  very  strongly  supported,  by  iron 
straps  and  hooks,  never  by  wires. 

Lead  pipes  should  be  examined  as  delivered.  The  weight  per 
foot,  or  the  letters  denoting  the  same  thing,  are  stamped  on  the  ends 

of  the  coils :  after  the  lengths  are  cut  off,  it  is  more 

Lead  P  pes. 
difficult  to  ascertain  whether  they  comply  in  weight 

with  the  requirements  of  the  specification.  Most  lead  manufactu- 
rers furnish  cards  showing  the  thickness  of  metal  corresponding  to 
a  given  weight  for  each  calibre,  but  the  saw  used  to  cut  it  spreads 
out  the  lead,  increasing  the  apparent  thickness.  In  general,  lead 
supply-pipes,  unless  for  a  tank  or  other  very  light  pressure,  should 
not  be  less  than  -fy  of  an  inch  in  thickness  of  metal.  Waste  and  air 
pipes  will  be  little  more  than  half  of  this.  There  is  some  difference 


160  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

in  the  quality  of  lead  pipes,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  detect  it  except  by 
analysis  or  the  test  of  use.  Honey-combed  or  corroded  pipe,  and  any 
which  shows  unequal  thickness  of  metal,  should  however  be  at  onco 
rejected.  ^ 

In  certain  localities  the  seamless  brass  tubing,  drawn  over  a  man- 
dril in  the  same  way  as  lead  pipe,  is  much  in  favor  for  plumbing 
work,  and  where  the  pressure  is  very  heavy  or  the  water   is  so  soft 
as   to  attack    lead,   it   is   well  worth    the    additional 

DfclSS    Plp6S«  i    •      i         •  it 

cost,  which  is  not  usually  more  than  ten  to  fifteen  per 
cent  on  the  whole  amount  of  the  plumber's  contract.  They  can  be 
had  either  plain,  or  coated  inside  and  outside  with  tin,  or,  for  use  in 
conspicuous  situations,  plated  with  nickel  and  polished ;  and  coup- 
lings, unions,  bends,  tees,  and  all  varieties  of  cocks  and  fittings  are 
furnished  to  correspond  with  each  kind  of  pipe.  "Where  the  brass 
tubing  is  employed  throughout  a  house,  it  is  common  to  have  the 
void-water  supply  tinned  inside,  while  the  hot-water,  which  is  not 
likely  to  be  used  for  drinking,  is  conveyed  in  the  ordinary  kind.  If 
there  is  no  danger  that  either  brass  or  lead  will  be  corroded  by  the 
water,  it  is  not  unusual  in  the  best  work  to  make  the  hot- water  pipes 
only  of  brass,  using  lead  for  the  others.  In  this  case  the  harder 
metal  possesses  the  advantage  that  if  properly  put  up,  with  the 
angles  left  free  to  move  a  little  back  and  forth  to  accommodate  the 
expansion  and  contraction  of  the  pipe  between  them,  it  is  not  inju- 
riously affected  by  repeated  alternations  of  heat  and  cold,  which 
with  the  inelastic  and  ductile  lead  first  stretch  the  pipe  by  contrac- 
tion, and  then,  as  it  does  not  possess  elasticity  enough  to  recover  its 
shape,  cause  it,  on  being  again  extended  by  the  passage  of  warm 
water  through  it,  to  sag  down  between  its  supports,  this  effect  in- 
creasing by  repetitions  of  the  cause  until  the  undulations  of  the  pipe 
become  sufficiently  pronounced  to  retard  or  stop  altogether  the  flow 
of  water  through  it.  Where,  however,  the  brass  tubing  is  tightly 
confined  at  the  ends  of  a  long  line,  the  joints  and  fittings  often  be- 
come strained  and  leaky  by  the  contraction  of  the  pipe  in  coloi 
\veather,  since  the  very  rigidity  of  the  metal  prevents  it  from  accom- 
modating itself,  like  ductile  lead,  to  the  force  exerted  upon  it;  so 
that  it  should  be  used  intelligently  to  obtain  the  full  benefit  of  its 
Sood  qualities.  One  last  precaution  should  be  observed  :  at  the  com- 
pletion of  a  piece  of  brass-pipe  plumbing  all  exposed  portions  of  the 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  161 

metal  must  be  varnished  with  a  good  coat  of  shellac,  or  it  will  soon 
become  corroded  and  unsightly.  This  may  be  made  a  portion  either 
of  the  plumber's  or  the  painter's  contract,  but  unless  the  duty  is 
distinctly  imposed  upon  one  or  the  other,  it  will  be  neglected.  Paint, 
wHich  was  once  generally  applied  both  to  brass  and  lead  pipes,  is 
best  omitted  unless  required  for  appearance. 

As  a  cheap  substitute  for  brass  tubing,  where  there  is  reason  to 
fear  the  corrosion  of  lead  pipe  from  the  softness  of  the  water,  or  its 
bursting  from  the  heavy  pressure  under  which  it  is  delivered,  iron  is 
often  used,  galvanized  or  enamelled  in  various  ways. 
It  may  be  obtained  with  a  lining  of  pure  block  tin,  Drought-iron 
forming  a  very  strong  and  pure  channel  for  water, 
and  glass-lined  iron  pipe  is  sometimes  used ;  but  the  ordinary  coat- 
ing is  one  of  coal-tar  or  paraffine  enamel,  giving  a  shining  black 
surface.  A  smooth,  red  covering  is  sometimes  seen,  which  is  said  to 
have  a  base  of  vulcanized  rubber.  Whatever  may  be  the  protecting 
medium  employed,  the  unions,  bends,  and  other  fittings  are  treated 
with  the  same,  and  if  well  put  together  the  water  nowhere  comes  in 
contact  with  the  metal.  The  galvanized  or  zinc-coated  pipes  are 
more  expensive  than  those  merely  enamelled,  but  more  durable,  un- 
less in  acid  waters. 

The  same  precautions  against  the  straining  of  the  joints  which 
are  necessary  with  brass  pipes  should  be  observed  with  those  of  iron. 
Moreover,  iron  being  a  very  rapid  conductor  of  heat,  cold-water 
supply-pipes  of  that  metal  will  in  warm,  sultry  weather  condense  a 
great  deal  of  water  upon  their  surfaces,  which  trickles  down  them 
and  may  in  time  cause  serious  injury  to  paper  or  other  decorations 
beneath.  Where  there  is  any  risk  of  this  the  pipes  should  be  en- 
cased in  a  tubing  of  zinc,  which  will  catch  the  con-  _ 

,  Zinc  Casings. 

densed  drops  and  conduct  them  to  a  place  of  safety. 

This  is  even  done  with  lead  and  brass  pipes  in  city  work  of  the  best 
character.  Where  costly  decorations  or  papers  are  in  danger  of 
being  injured  by  a  possible  leak,  it  is  always  advisable  and  is  gen- 
erally required  of  the  plumber  by  the  best  architects,  to  enclose  all 
supplypipes  in  zinc  tubes,  which  will  retain  the  jet  from  a  lead  pipe 
burst  by  freezing  or  water-hammer,  or  the  drops  of  condensed  water, 
and  conduct  them  to  a  safe  outlet. 

i'he  course  joints  and  fastening  of  all  the  pipes,  whatever  their 


162  BJ1LD1NG   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

material,  should  be  carefully  observed,  and  the  hand  of  a  skilful  and 
conscientious  plumber  will  be  more  quickly  recognized  in  this  than 
in  any  other  detail  of  the  work.  Such  a  man  can  always  arrange 
hi's  pipes  so  that  they  will  fall  naturally  into  their  proper  places, 
without  that  dodging  over  or  under  each  other  which  characterizes 
the  "  botch's"  work;  his  lines  will  be  perfectly  straight,  and  all  hot- 
water  pipes  separated  by  a  small  distance  from  the  cold,  to  avoid 
loss  of  heat  from  one  to  the  other;  the  supports  will  tie  neatly  put 
up,  at  equal  and  small  intervals,  so  that  no  sagging  of  the  pipes  will 
be  possible  between  them ;  and  all  will  be  laid  with  a  continuous  fall 
toward  some  faucet  by  means  of  which  the  water  can  be  thoroughly 
drained  from  them. 

Boards  should  be  put  up  by  the  carpenter,  well  secured  to  the 
walls  or  ceilings,  wherever  pipes  are  to  run,  and  similar  ones  fitted 
in  between  the  beams  where  it  is  necessary  to  conceal  them  between 
floor  and  ceiling.  To  these  boards  the  pipes  must  be  attached  at 
intervals  of  about  four  feet  where  they  run  vertically,  two  feet  where 
they  follow  the  underside  of  a  ceiling,  and  six  or  eight  feet  where 
they  simply  lie  on  a  horizontal  surface.  Horizontal  pipes  should  be 
secured  by  stout  brass  bands  screwed  to  the  boards ;  and  where  sev- 
eral pipes  run  side  by  side,  a  first-rate  plumber  will  separate  them 
far  enough  to  allow  screws  to  be  put  into  the  band  between  them. 
Vertical  pipes,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  creeping  downward  by 
alternate  expansion  and  contraction,  must  be  fixed  in  place  by  hard- 
metal  "  tacks "  soldered  to  the  pipes  and  screwed  to  the  boards. 
All  joints  in  lead  pipes  should  be  "  wiped  joints,"  excepting  only 
those  connecting  the  couplings  of  basin,  sink,  or  other  wastes  to  the 
pipes,  which  cannot  easily  be  wiped,  and  do  not  require  to  resist  a 
pulling  strain,  so  that  a  "  cup  joint "  is  sufficient. 

Brass  and  iron  pipes  are  connected  by  means  of  unions,  or  short 
pieces  of  cast-brass,  tapped  at  each  end  to  receive  the  screw  thread 
cut  on  the  lengths  of  tubing.  In  the  case  of  brass,  the  joint  is  covered 
with  red  lead  before  screwing  up.  Enamelled  or  galvanized  iron 
fittings  may  be  put  together  without  such  luting. 

If  the  workman  shows  a  disposition  to  neglect  any  of  these  niceties 
of  his  art,  he  should  be  always  under  suspicion  of  greater  errors,  and 
should  be  watched  to  see  that  he  does  not  fasten  the  pipes  in  out-ot- 
the-way  corners  by  means  of  hooks,  or  leave  them  suspended  from  a 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  163 

ceiling,  or  between  beams,  by  attachments  so  far  apart  that  alternate 
expansion  and  contraction  will  in  time  cause  them  to  sag  down,  form- 
ing a  hollow  from  which  the  water  cannot  be  drawn  off,  so  that  the 
pipe  la  likely  to  burst  there  if  the  house  should  be  left  vacant  in 
freezing  weather.  The  opposite  fault,  of  allowing  the  pipe  to  take 
an  upward  bend  in  any  part  of  its  course,  is  still  more  to  be  avoided. 
Such  a  bend,  whether  accidental  or  made  by  ignorant  intention,  soon 
becomes  filled  with  the  air  always  carried  in  bubbles  through  the 
water,  forming  an  "  air  trap,"  which  may  stop  the  passage  of  water 
entirely  unless  relieved  by  opening  the  pipe  at  the  highest  point  of 
the  curve. 

The  number  and  courses  of  all  the  pipes  should  be  minutely 
described  in  the  specification.  If,  however,  no  details  are  given,  as 
sometimes  happens,  the  superintendent  will  have  a  little  difficulty  in 
deciding  upon  the  arrangement  which  he  can  require  with  justice  both 
to  the  plumber  and  the  owner.  Much  depends  upon  the  custom  of 
the  locality,  and  something  also  upon  the  price  for  which  the  work  is 
to  be  done.  In  Massachusetts  or  New  York,  for  instance,  under  a  mere 
agreement  for  a  "  first-class  job,"  with  an  adequate  consideration,  the 
plumber  would  be  expected,  without  special  orders,  to  provide  stop- 
cocks in  convenient  positions  for  shutting  off  both  hot  and  cold  water 
from  any  part  of  the  house  at  pleasure,  and  draining  the  pipes ;  and 
in  Massachusetts  he  should  arrange  a  tank  in  the  roof,  itself  supplied 
by  a  rising  main  and  ball-cock  from  the  regular  house  service,  to 
contain  water  for  the  copper  bath-boiler  below,  and  carry  up  an 
"  expansion  pipe  "  from  the  highest  part  of  the  hot-water  system  to 
this  tank,  turning  over  the  edge  just  above  the  water-line,  so  as  to 
allow  steam  and  froth  to  escape  freely ;  and  in  any  large  city  he 
would  be  expected  to  put  separate  traps  under  all  fixtures,  and  pro- 
vide air-pipes  to  the  same,  and  to  carry  up  such  air-pipes,  as  well  as 
the  soil-pipes,  above  the  roof ;  and  finally,  to  fit  up  separate  cisterns 
over  each  water-closet,  for  their  exclusive  supply,  and  place  "  safes  " 
of  sheet-lead  turned  up  around  the  edge  under  all  plumbing  fixtures 
above  the  first  story,  or  over  furnished  rooms  in  the  basement,  with 
waste-pipes  of  their  own,  emptying  over  a  sink  or  bath. 

In  States  which  have  statutes  for  the  regulation  of  plumbing  work, 
the  provisions  of  the  constituted  authority  must  be  taken,  in  the 
absence  of  specific  details,  as  forming  a  part  of  the  plumber's  contract. 


164  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

In  N"ew  York  and  elsewhere,  however,  it  is  customary  to  fit  up  bath- 
boilers  without  the  tank  in  the  upper  story,  rising  main  and  expansion 
pipe,  and  in  some  small  country  towns  the  old-fashioned  pan  water- 
closet,  supplied  without  the  intervention  of  a  service  cistern  by  a 
valve  with  branch  from  the  main  pipe,  is  still  used  in  the  best 
ordinary  practice. 

In  cases  where  a  first-rate  job  is  clearly  not  intended,  the  superin 
tendent  may  still  do  much  by  attentive  study  of  the  subject  to  secure, 
if  not  the  best  possible  arrangement,  at  least  a  safe  and  strong  one. 
When  the  time  comes  for  setting  in  place  the  sinks,  baths,  wash-bowls 
and  water-closets,  this  special  knowledge  will  be  still  more  necessary, 
for  without  an  adequate  and  constantly  advancing  acquaintance  with 
the  improved  apparatus  continually  placed  upon  the  market,  he  can 
neither  criticise  justly  that  which  may  appear  to  him  valuable  or  the 
reverse  in  the  construction  or  fitting  up  of  new  appliances,  nor  make 
suggestions  to  meet  peculiar  needs. 

Such  knowledge  must,  however,  be  gained  from  technical  books 
and  journals;  a  general  treatise  can  do  little  more  than  indicate  a 
few  main  principles ;  as  for  instance,  that  waste  and  supply  pipes 
should,  for  any  kind  of  apparatus,  be  large,  to  insure  speedy  filling 
and  discharge,  and  the  construction  as  simple  as  possible;  that 
putty  joints,  rubber  washers,  and  inaccessible  floats,  check-valves  or 
other  moving  parts  are  to  be  avoided :  and  that  the  ideal  of  every 
plumbing  appliance  would  be  a  solid  glazed  stoneware  basin,  in  one 
piece,  supplied  by  a  quick  and  copious  flow  of  water  through  a  large 
pipe,  and  discharged  through  the  shortest  possible  waste-pipe  and 
ventilated  trap,  all  connected  with  calked  lead  joints,  into  a  thor- 
oughly aerated,  porcelain-lined  soil-pipe. 

At  present  this  ideal  is  far  from  being  fully  realized  in  any  form 
of  apparatus.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  perhaps  the  ordinary 
wash-bowl  well  fitted  up,  supplied  through  half-inch  basin-cocks,  and 
drained  through  1^-inch  pipe,  with  a  1^-inch  S-trap,  ventilated  by  a 
pipe  of  equal  calibre  carried  to  a  main  air-pipe.  In  such  an  appa- 
ratus there  is  no  cavity  to  collect  foulness;  the  supply  is  sufficiently 
copious  to  wash  the  sides  of  the  basin  by  the  force  of  its  flow,  and  the 
calibre  of  the  waste-pipe,  including  the  trap,  being  uniform,  the  im- 
petus of  the  discharge  through  it  is  nowhere  checked,  so  that  the 
Eric.iou  of  the  swiftly  passing  water  scours  away  the  slime  which 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


165 


Siphonage. 


tends  to  collect  upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  pipes.  Next  to  the 
wash-basin  comes  the  pantry-sink,  or  "  dish-washer,"  which  is  hardly 
more  than  a  large  basin  lined  with  tinned  copper  instead  of  porce- 
lain and  drained  through  the  same  size  of  pipe  and  ventilated  S-trap. 
The  ventilation  of  these  traps,  as  well  as  of  all  similar  ones, 
whether  used  under  bowls,  sinks,  baths,  water-closets  or  other  appa- 
ratus, although  absolutely  essential  to  their  security  as 
a  seal,  is  not  yet  so  universally  demanded  by  archi- 
tects, or  practised  by  plumbers,  as  it  should  be.  Many 
and  varied  experiments  with  glass  and  other  traps  have  conclusively 
shown  that  the  effect  of  the  discharge  of  a  volume  of  water  through 
those  of  the  ordinary  form,  even  when  ventilated,  is  not,  as  appai- 
ently  it  would  be,  to  leave  a  residue  of  liquid  in  the  bend,  standing 
at  the  level  of  the  bottom  of  the  outlet-pipe  (Fig.  135)  but  is  rather, 
by  the  impetus  given  to  the  whole  moving  mass,  to  throw  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  residuary  water  beyond  the  bend,  a  portion 
running  off  through  the  outlet  into  the  drain,  while  the  remainder 
sinks  back  into  the  trap,  partially  filling  it.  (Fig.  136.) 
When  the  trap  is  unventilated  it  very  frequently  hap- 
pens that  the  column  of  water  passing  through  it,  and  over  the  outer 
bend,  sets  up  a  siphon-like  action,  the  rising  portion  of  the  bend 
forming  the  short  leg  and  the  dis- 
charge-pipe the  long  leg  of  the 
siphon.  When  this  happens,  all 
the  water  in  the  trap  is  drawn  over 
after  the  main  stream,  leaving  it 
empty  (Fig.  137),  and  of  course 
destroying  its  efficacy  as  a  check 

to  the  ascent  of  foul  air..  Another  r 

kind  of  siphon  action  is  produced 
in  the  same  traps  whenever  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  water  is 
thrown  down  any  waste  connected 
with  the  drainage  system.  The 
main  waste  being  filled,  or  nearly  so,  by  the  charge,  is  partially  ex. 
hausted  of  air  by  the  passage  of  the  water  through  it,  and  unless  the 
deficiency  is  supplied  through  ventilation-pipes  the  external  atmo- 
sphere will  force  its  way  in  through  the  trar.s,  pushing  the  sealing- 


Fig.  135. 


/G6 


BUILDING  SUPEKLNTENDE^UiS. 


Kitchen  Sinks. 


water  before  it,  and  leaving  them  open.  To  guard  against  the 
splashing  of  water  over  the  bend,  it  is  now  common  to  make  the 
trap  very  deep;  and  siphonage  of  all  kinds  is  prevented  by  ventil- 
ation -pipes  attached  to 

every  trap  at  the  outlet 

bend,  and   carried  to 

some  main  air-pipe.     It 

was  once  usual  to  make 

these  ventilation-pipes  of 

small  calibre,  but  experi- 
Fig.  136.  ence  has  shown  that  air 

passes  so  slowly  through  small  tubes  that  nothing  less  than  1^  inches 
is  now  used  for  small  traps  and  2  inches  for  larger  ones. 

If  nothing  but  clear  water  passed  through  house-traps,  the  science 
of  plumbing  would  be  an  easy  matter,  but  it  is  not  so ;  and  with 
the  kitchen  sink  serious  difliculties  begin  to  appear. 
The  supply,  by  means  of  two  "  bibb-cocks  "  for  hot 
and  cold  water  respectively,  is  simple  enough,  but  the-  waste  liquid 
from  the  kitchen  inevitably  contains  more  or  less  fatty  matter,  gen- 
erally in  a  melted  state,  and  suspended  in  small  globules  in  the 
water,  which  during  its  passage  through  the  cold  pipes  is  chilled,  and 
the  floating  particles  striking  the  metal  walls  are  congealed,  covering 
them  with  a  tallow-like  coating,  which  gradually  thickens  from  accre- 
tions of  similar  matter  until  the  pipe  or  siphon  trap  is  nearly  or 
wholly  choked.  The  coating  is  very  hard,  so  that  no  flushing,  however 
vigorous,  can  do  more  than  hasten  the  passage  of  the  liquid  and  re- 
move the  inevitable  congelation  to  a  point  farther  down  the  pipe,  and 
the  only  way  to  avoid  certain  ultimate  stoppage  at  some  point  is  to  pro- 
vide a  reservoir  or  catch-basin  on  the  line  of  discharge, 
which  may  retain  the  waste  waters  long  enough  to  al- 
low the  grease  to  congeal  and  separate,  and  shall  at  the  same  time 
be  large  enough  to  contain  a  certain  accumulation  of  solid  matter 
without  obstructing  the  water-way,  and  in  a  position  where  it  can  be 
readily  reached  and  removed  upon  occasion.  Years  ago  this  was 
done  by  placing  at  some  distance  beyond  the  trap  of  the  pink,  either 
in  the  cellar  or  out  of  doors,  a  "  grease-trap,"  consisting  of  a  small 
tight  brick  cesspool,  into  which  the  waste-pipe  from  the  sink  emptied, 
while  a  second  pipe,  inserted  in  the  wall  of  the  grease-trap  with  lit 


Crease-Traps. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


167 


mouth  turned  downward  (Fig.  138),  so  as  to  prevent  the  entrance  of 
floating  cakes  of  fat,  carried  the  overflow  to  the  drain.  This  form 
of  trap  would  often  hold  the  accumulated  grease  of  many  months, 
but  offensive  decomposition  was  apt  to  appear  in  the  accompanying 
liquid,  and  it  is  generally  preferable  to  discard  in  such  a  situation 
both  the  S-trap  and  the  little  cesspool,  substituting  a  device  which 
combines  the  advantages  of  both  in  the  shape  of  a  "  round  trap," 
shown  in  section  in  Figure  139,  and  provided  with  a  large  brass 
trap-screw  at  the  top,  which  can  be  opened  whenever  necessary  and 


Fig.  138. 


Fig.  139. 


the  fatty  coating  removed  in  a  few  moments.  The  round  traps  com- 
monly used  for  sinks  are  of  lead,  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  4-inch 
brass  trap-screw  inserted  in  the  top.  Until  nearly  filled  with  grease 
they  are  not  sasily  siphoned  out,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  not  cus- 
tomary to  provide  them  with  air-pipes,  but  the  advantages  of  ventil- 
ating all  wastes  are  so  great  that  no  exception  should  be  made  in 
their  favor. 

Wash-trays  are  usually  drained  through  a  round  trap  of  the  .same 
size  and  construction  in  order  to  prevent  any  possi- 
ble  stoppage  of  the  pipes  by  soap,  which  will  in  time 
form  a  greasy  coating  upon  them.     One  trap  is  enough  for  a  set  of 
three  or  four  trays. 

For  the  kitchen  sinks  themselves  no  perfect  material  has  yet  been 
introduced.  Small  ones  are  made  of  white  earthenware,  which  is 
all  that  could  be  desired,  but  specimens  up  to  24"  X  48",  the  average 
size  for  good  houses,  are  hardly  yet  attempted,  and  soapstone  forms 
perhaps  the  best  substitute.  Earthenware  wash-trays  are  howeve. 


168  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

already  in  use,  and  though  they  are  more  expensive  than  soapstone 
the  forty  or  fifty  dollars  of  extra  cost  is  more  than  repaid  by  their 
beauty  and  cleanliness.  Iron  sinks  are  much  used  and  are  made 
either  plain,  galvanized,  or  enamelled^  the  galvanizing  being,  per- 
haps, the  most  durable  finish. 

Bath-tubs  can  be  had  of  earthenware,  but  at  considerable  addi- 
tional expense,  the  ordinary  material  being  tinned  and  planished 

copper  of  suitable  thickness.     Fourteen  ounces  to  the 

Bath-Tubs.  .          »  *        i  .  i       MI  11    i  i 

square  foot  is  the  weight  which  will  generally  be  used 

unless  the  specifications  direct  otherwise,  but  copper  of  this  thick- 
ness will  soon  "  cockle "  and  become  uneven  from  the  expansion 
caused  by  hot  water  flowing  over  it,  and  sixteen-ounce  metal  is  the 
lightest  which  is  suitable  for  a  first-rate  job.  Some  architects  re- 
quire eighteen-ounce  copper,  which  gives  excellent  results.  The 
best  manufacturers  of  baths  stamp  the  weight  of  metal  on  each,  so 
that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  discovering  whether  the  contract  has 
been  complied  with  in  this  respect. 

Every  bath  should  have  its  own  ventilated  S-trap,  separate  from 
all  other  fixtures.     The  old  custom  of  running  bath  or  basin  wastes 
into  water-closet  traps  is  obsolete  among  good  plumbers.     The  sup- 
ply may  be  brought  through  plain  bibb-cocks  (Fig.  140),  bath-bibbs 
(Fig.  141),  or  by  means  of  various 
forms    of     combination-cocks    or 
concealed  valves.    It  is  quite  com- 
mon to  arrange  the  cocks  for  hot 
and  cold  water  behind  the  end  of 
the  tub,  operating  them  by  means 
of  small  handles  above   the  cap-        Fig' I4lt 

ing.  Inside  the  bath  is  a  single  small  mouth-piece  through  which 
the  hot  and  cold  streams  issue,  mixed,  at  the  temperature  desired. 

The  supply,  may  be  placed  close  to  the  bottom  of  the  tub,  so  that 
it  fills  noiselessly,  but  in  this  case,  unless  the  ordinary  pressure 
is  very  considerable,  a  check-valve  should  be  put  in  the  cold  water 
supply,  or  the  opening  of  a  cold-water  cock  in  a  basin  or  sink  on  a 
story  below  may,  if  the  main  supply  should  happen  to  be  cut  off, 
draw  water  from  the  bath. 

For  sinks,  wash-trays,  basins,  baths,  slop-hoppers  and  similar  appa- 
ratus, the  supply  of  water  is  drawn  from  the  pipes  by  means  of 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


169 


cocks  varying  much  in  form  and  shape,  and  still  more  in  construc- 
tion. As  a  rule, the  particular  variety  to  be  employed^ 

,  .  '         1        .c     ..        ,    ;  .,  J      Ground-Cocks. 

is  mentioned  in  the  specification,  but  there  are  some 

architects,  and  many  more  builders,  who  are  content  to  regard  the 
whole  science  of  plumbing  as  a  mystery  beyond  their  comprehension, 
and  either  pass  over  such  details  in  silence,  or  specify  the  cheapest 
varieties  without  regard  to  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  to  be 
used. 

All  the  forms  of  cocks,  however  varied  in  appearance  and  use, 
belong  to  one  or  the  other  of  two  great  divisions,  the  "  ground  "  or 
the  "  compression  "  cocks.  The  ground-cocks  operate  by  means  of 
a  plug,  which  is  inserted  into  the  bore  of  the  pipe,  and  is  itself  pierced 
with  a  hole  of  nearly  similar  size,  so  that  when  the  plug  is  turned  in 
such  a  way  as  to  bring  the  hole  into  the  axis  of  the  bore  of  the  pipe, 
the  water  runs  freely  through  it;  but  by  turning  it  at  an  angle 
with  its  previous  direction  the  solid  part  of  the  plug  is  brought 
across  the  water-way  and  the  flow  cut  off,  either  partially  or  wholly, 
according  to  the  length  of  the  arc  through  which  it  is  turned.  Fig- 
ures 140  and  141  show  two  common 
forms  of  ground-cocks,  and  "Figures 
142,  143,  and  144  explain  the  ac- 
tion of  the  pierced  plug,  Figure  140 
showing  a  horizontal  section  of  the 
cock  when  open,  fully  Figure  143 
when  partially  closed,  and  Figure 
144  when  wholly  closed.  Of  course 
the  efficiency  of  such  a  cock,  which 
is  exactly  the  same  in  principle  as 
the  key  of  an  ordinary  gas-fixture, 
depends  upon  the  accuracy  with 
which  the  plug  is  ground  into  its 
seat;  and  to  provide  for  tightening 
it  after  the  surfaces  have  become 
abraded  by  the  friction  of  use,  it 
is  customary  to  taper  the  plug  and 


Fig.   144. 


to  insert  a  set-screw  in  the  bottom,  acting  upon  a  strong  spring  inter- 
posed between  it  and  the  main  body  of  the  faucet,  so  that  a  turn  of 
this  will  draw  the  plug  down  further  into  its  seat. 


HO  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

This  answers  very  we'll  with  clean  water,  but  many  public  ana 
private  wells,  reservoirs,  pumps  or  other  sources  of  supply  deliver 
water  containing  small  particles  of  sand,  which  are  drawn  into 
the  faucets  and  get  between  the  plug  .and  its  seat,  where  they  soon 
cut  small  grooves  which  allow  water  to  pass  around 

the  PluS  at  a11  times>  and  the  faucet  driPs  Persis' 
tently,  notwithstanding  the  tightening  of  the  set- 
screw.  Such  a  leak  cannot  be  remedied,  except  by  putting  in  a 
new  faucet,  which  involves  a  considerable  expense.  This  difficulty 
is  obviated  by  employing  the  compression  or  screw-down  cocks, 
through  which  the  water  (lows  in  a  devious  course,  passing  at  one 
point  through  a  strong  metallic  diaphragm,  pierced  with  an  opening 
of  the  requisite  size,  but  capable  of  being  closed  by  the  application 
of  a  piston,  armed  with  a  leather  or  rubber  washer,  which  is  brought 
down  upon  it  by  a  screw  operated  by  a  cross-handle  from  the  out- 
side. There  are  many  varieties,  some  employing  a  lever  instead  of 
a  screw,  and  closing  with  the  flow  of  water  instead  of  against  it-  hut 
the  principle  is  the  same  in  all :  the  current  being  controlled  wholly 
by  the  movement  of  the  soft  washer,  the  grains  of  sand  which  may  be 
present  can  do  no  worse  than  lie  on  the  top  of  the  diaphragm,  and 
indent  themselves  in  the  leather  as  it  descends  upon  them,  without 
affecting  the  metallic  portions  of  the  cock  in  the  least;  and  when  the 
washer  is  worn  away,  as  it  will  be  in  course  of  time,  a  fresh  one  can 
be  inserted  by  any  person  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  only  common  form  of  apparatus  which  remains  to  be  described 
is  the  water-closet,  of  which  many  varieties  are  used.     The  worst 

of    these   in    principle   is   the    ordinary    pan-closet 
Water-Closet.  .    r    .     ^  ,     .,        , 

(Fig.  145),  in  which  a  pan,  so  arranged  with  valves 

and  cistern  or  other  supply  as  to  be  kept  full  of  water  when  at  rest, 
is  held  up  by  a  counter-balance  weight  against  the  lower  orifice  of  a 

stoneware  basin.    The  pan,  counter-balance  and  other 
Pan-Closet.  ,       ,-  • 

working  parts  are  enclosed  in  an  iron  "  container,    or 

"  pot,"  above  which  the  basin  is  set,  while  itself  discharges  through 
a  lead  S-trap  into  the  main  soil-pipe.  Upon  occasion  the  pan  is  tilted 
by  pulling  the  handle  beside  the  seat,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines, 
and  throws  its  contents  into  the  "  pot,"  whence  they  find  their  way 
into  the  trap,  and  thence  to  the  drain.  The  dashing  of  the  soil  and 
water  against  the  rough  inner  surface  of  the  cast-iron  container 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


171 


loon  smears  it  with  filth,  which  decomposes,  evolving  much  fouu 
vapor,  and  although  the 
water-seal  of  the  trap 
below  prevents  the  gas- 
es of  the  sewer  from  ru- 
ing through  the  closet, 
the  same  barrier  serves 
to  hold  within  the 
container  the  effluvium 
which  proceeds  from 
the  matter  adhering  to 
its  walls  till  the  unclos- 
ing of  the  mouth  of  the 
basin  above  by  the  rais- 
ing of  the  handle,  and 
consequent  tilting  of 
the  pan,  allows  it  to 

escape   upward,   which  ftgt  |45. 

it  does  in  a  nauseating 

whiff,  familiar  to  every  one.  Besides  this  avenue  of  occasional  exit 
a  smaller  one  is  always  open,  through  the  journal  in  which  the  pivot 
works  which  serves  to  tilt  the  pan.  This  might  be  made  gas-tight, 
but  in  practice  never  is,  and  after  the  putty  which  is  put  around  it 
on  first  setting  is  broken  away  by  the  movement  of  the  pivot  a  con- 
tinual leakage  of  effluvium  takes  place.  Various  devices  have  been 
employed  to  lessen  this  annoyance :  the  best  closets  of  the  kind,  in 
places  where  they  are  not  yet  superseded  by  very  different  appa- 
ratus, bavf  the  containers  enamelled  with  smooth  white  porcelain. 
wn»cn  is  more  easily  washed  by  the  flushing  water ;  and  others  are 
fitted  with  ventilating  tubes,  to  give  a  safe  outlet  to  the  air  of  the 
container ;  but  the  amelioration  of  the  evil  is  only  partial,  and  good 
plumbing  work  now  admits  no  form  of  water-closet  which  gives  any 
lodgment  for  filth,  or  opportunity  for  the  generation  of  gas,  on  the 
house  side  of  the  trap,  this,  if  ventilated  as  it  should  be,  forming  an 
effectual  barrier  against  the  return  of  any  kind  of  vapor. 

One  variety  of  improved  closet  which  is  now  popular,  and  if  well 
made  is  very  good,  substitutes  for  the  bulky  pan  under  the  bowl  a 
•mall  valve,  which  fits  tightly  against  the  mouth  of  the  bowl,  and 


172  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

holds  the  water  in  at  the  height  determined  by  an  overflow  until  the 
lifting  of  the  handle  drops  it,  and  allows  the  contents  of  the  bowl  to 
escape  into  the  trap.  As  in  the  case  of  the  pan-closet,  a  receiver 
must  be  arranged  under  the  bowl,  to  grve  room  for  the  movements  of 
the  valve,  but  this  is  very  small  compared  with  the  container  of  the 
pan-closet,  so  that  it  is  well  washed  by  the  passage  of  the  large  body 
of  water  discharged  from  the  bowl,  and  its  surface  being  enamelled, 
little  or  nothing  remains  in  it  to  decompose.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
necessary  for  a  first-class  job  to  ventilate  even  this  small  receiver  by 
a  separate  air-pipe.  If  this  is  done,  not  only  is  the  vapor  rising 
from  a  possible  contamination  of  its  walls  prevented  from  issuing 
into  the  house  on  the  opening  of  the  valve,  but  that  from  the  water 
of  the  trap  below  is  withdrawn  safely.  It  is  now  usual,  in  closets  of 
this  kind,  to  make  the  bowl  with  a  "  flushing- rim,"  or 
pierced  pipe  formed  in  the  earthenware  itself  around 
the  upper  edge.  The  flushing  water  enters  this  and 
I*  carried  entirely  around  the  rim,  descending  on  all  sides  and  wash- 
ing every  portion  of  the  bowl. 

This  flushing-rim  is  an  essential  requisite  of  a  good  closet.    With- 
out it  the  best  patterns  fail  to  give  perfect  satisfaction,  and  with  it  a 
very  simple  closet  can  be  kept  thoroughly  clean.     In  fact,  the  prac- 
tice of  the  best  architects  is  gradually  inclining  to  the 
Hoppers.  "  , 

use   under   all   circumstances  of  a   closet   consisting 

merely  of  a  well-made  stoneware  bowl  or  "hopper,"  with  either  a 
stoneware  trap  made  in  one  piece  with  it  or  a  separate  lead  trap,  as 
circumstances  may  decide,  and  furnished  with  a  flushing-rim,  with- 
out valves,  pan,  or  moving  parts  of  any  kind.  The  supply  is  so 
arranged  as  to  deliver  a  considerable  quantity  of  water  with  a  sud- 
den rush  all  around  the  rim,  and  the  effect  is  not  only  to  wash  the 
bowl  thoroughly  at  each  discharge,  but  to  urge  the  contents  of  the 
trap  forward  with  such  force  as  to  insure  their  passage  into  the  soil- 
pipe,  leaving  only  clean  water  to  form  a  seal.  Without  the  sudden 
and  copious  downward  supply,  filth  is  sure  to  be  left  floating  in  the 
water  of  the  trap,  exposed  to  sight  and  smell,  so  that  hoppers  should 
only  be  used  where  this  can  be  insured. 

A  fourth  variety  of  closet  should  be  mentioned.  This  is  the 
plunger-closet,  of  which  the  earliest  form  was  the  Jennings  patent 
(Fig.  146),  consisting  in  an  earthenware  bowl  with  side  outlet  and 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


173 


trap  beneath  in  one  piece  with  the  bowl.  The  water  is  retained  in 
the  bowl  by  a  plunger,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  fitting  against  a  rub- 
ber seating.  When  the  plunger  is  lifted  by  means  of 
the  handle,  the  contents  of  the  bowl  flow  out  beneath 
it,  into  and  over  the  trap.  The  overflow  in  the  origi- 
nal Jennings  closet  was  arranged  to  take  place  through  the  plunger, 
which  was  made  hollow  for  the  purpose,  but  effluvium  from  matters 
which  might  be  floating  in  the  trap  passed  readily  up  through  the 
same  avenue,  and  escaped  into  the  room  around  the  handle  by  which 
the  plunger  was  moved. 


Fig.  146. 


Fig.  147. 


The  supply  was  delivered  through  a  delicate  valve,  which  required 
to  be  adjusted  to  the  pressure  for  each  closet,  and  where  this  was 
variable,  often  allowed  water  at  times  to  run  to  waste  through  the 
closet  and  the  overflow.  Both  these  defects  have  been  remedied  in 
various  ways.  In  the  Demarest  pattern  (Fig.  147),  a  small  cistern 
is  attached  to  the  bowl,  communicating  with  it,  and  a  ball-cock  in 
this  affords  a  reliable  means  of  shutting  off  the  supply  when  the 
basin  is  full.  The  overflow  takes  place  through  the  plunger,  which 
is  considerably  larger  than  in  the  Jennings  apparatus,  but  is  trapped 
in  its  passage 

All  the  closets  of  this  description,  as  indeed  of  any  other,  require 
careful  use,  to  prevent  filth  from  lodging  upon  or  about  the  plunger, 
where  it  decomposes,  sending  up  faint  odors  around  the  handle.  If 
this  should  happen,  the  cup  can  be  unscrewed  and  the  plunger  lifted 


174  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

out  and  cleaned  in  a  few  minutes,  but  even  this  trouble  is  to  be 
avoided  if  possible. 

The  main  point  to  be  observed  in  setting  closets  is  the  security 
of  the  connections.  The"  old-fashioned  bowls  have  earthenware 

"horns "  to  receive  the  supply,  and  the  only  joint  pos- 
Connectlons.  ,     .  ,       ., 

sible  between  these  and  the  lead  pipe  is  made  with  a 

mass  of  putty,  tied  with  a  rag ;  but  all  modern  apparatus  has  brass 
ferrules  or  couplings  baked  into  the  earthenware  horn,  and  a  perma- 
nent soldered  joint  is  easily  made.  In  the  same  way,  the  connection 
between  the  outlet  of  the  container,  hopper,  or  trap,  as  the  case  may 
be,  whether  of  iron  or  stoneware,  and  the  lead  pipe  or  trap  beyond, 
is  still  usually  made  by  "flanging"  the  end  of  the  lead  pipe  out  on 
the  floor,  inserting  the  projecting  mouth  of  the  closet,  screwing  it 
down,  through  the  lead,  to  the  floor,  and  daubing  the  whole  with 
putty ;  but  the  very  best  apparatus  is  now  provided  with  brass  fer- 
rules at  the  outlet  as  well  as  at  the  inlet,  securing  a  perfect  joint. 
Where  putty  is  necessarily  used  about  plumbing  work,  it  should  be 
mixed  with  red  lead,  to  prevent  rats  from  eating  it,  or  it  will  soon 
disappear. 

At  the  end  of  this  Part  will  be  found  a  plumber's  specification, 
which  will  serve  to  call  attention  to  certain  points  which  need  not 
here  be  mentioned. 

The  plumber's  work  continues,  simultaneously  with  the  other  build- 
ing operations,  nearly  until  the  completion  of  the  house,  so  that  in 
point  of  time  the  description  of  a  considerable  portion  of  it  belongs 
with  work  mentioned  hereafter,  but  it  is  more  convenient  to  gather 
together  in  one  place  whatever  needs  to  be  said  upon  the  subject,  and 
one  more  matter  remains  to  be  explained  before  we  dismiss  it  en- 
tirely from  our  minds. 

After  the  contract  is  completed,  and  the  connections  made  between 
the  bath-boiler  and  the  water-front  of  the  range  or  cooking-stove, 
the  water  should  be  turned  into  all  the  pipes,  in  order 
that  imperfect  joints,  or  the  holes  frequently  caused 
by  the  careless  driving  of  nails,  may  be  detected  and 
remedied.  At  some  subsequent  time,  when  the  traps  have  been  filled 
by  use,  the  tightness  of  the  drain-pipes  should  be  tested  with  oil  of 
peppermint.  The  oil  is  sold  expressly  for  the  purpose,  in  two-ounce 
vials,  hermetically  sealed  by  melting  the  glass  together  over  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  173 

mouth.  A  man  is  sent  up  to  the  roof  with  the  vial  of  oil,  and  after 
stopping  up  temporarily  all  ventilation  or  air  pipes  connected  with 
any  part  of  the  drainage  system,  he  breaks  off  the  top  of  the  vial, 
and  pours  the  contents  down  into  the  soil-pipe,  which  will  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  in  any  modern  house  project  above  the  roof.  A  pitcher 
of  hot  water  is  immediately  handed  up  to  him,  and  he  pours  this 
down  after  the  peppermint,  and  closes  the  mouth  of  the  soil-pipe  by 
stuffing  in  paper  or  rags.  The  peppermint  is  volatilized  by  the  heat 
of  the  water,  and  the  vapor,  unable  to  escape,  penetrates  by  diffu- 
sion every  part  of  the  system.  Meanwhile,  another  man  examines 
all  the  drain,  soil,  and  waste  pipes  in  the  house,  and  if  the  operation 
has  been  properly  conducted,  the  slightest  odor  of  peppermint  in  the 
building  will  be  conclusive  evidence  of  some  defect,  either  in  a  joint 
or  pipe,  which  must  be  at  once  remedied.  It  is  important  that  the 
man  who  carries  and  applies  the  peppermint  should  not  be  allowed 
to  enter  the  house,  as  lie  is  sure  to  carry  with  him  some  trace  of  the 
powerful  scent,  which  will  make  the  test  useless.  After  the  trial  is 
over,  the  pipes  above  the  roof  may  be  unclosed,  and  if  no  leak  has 
been  detected,  the  plumbing  can  be  pronounced  safe.  Plumbers 
often  profess  to  apply  this  test,  but  do  so  in  a  manner  which  makes 
the  result  unreliable.  Unless  the  apertures  of  vent  and  soil  pipes 
are  closed,  a  circulation  is  very  apt  to  exist  between  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  soil-pipe  and  the  nearest  air-pipe,  which  will,  especially  if 
no  water  is  used  to  help  the  diffusion  of  the  oil,  carry  off  the  fra- 
grant vapor  before  it  can  penetrate  into  the  comparatively  stagnant 
atmosphere  which  fills  the  lower  portions  of  the  system. 

The  fumes  of  burning  sulphur  are  sometimes  substituted  for  the 
peppermint  vapor,  but  the  application  is  more  troublesome,  ami  the 
result  no  more  satisfactory. 

At  or  before  this  stage  in  the  construction  the  furnace  should  be 
put  in,  and  the  cellar  floor  concreted.  If  left,  as  is  often  the  case, 

till  a  later  period,  when  the  kiln-dried  finishings  or 

Furnace. 

floors  are  in  place,  these  are  very  apt  to  absorb  damp- 
ness from  the  mas.s  of  wet  cement  in  the  basement,  and  lose  their 
shape  or  their  glossy  surface. 

We  have  to  deal  with  a  client  who  insists  upon  an  ample  supply 
of  fresh  air  at  all  seasons,  and  have  therefore  advised  him  to  select  a 
furnace  possessing  as  large  a  radiating  surface  as  possible,  in  order 


176  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

to  secure  the  delivery  into  his  rooms  in  cold  weather  of  an  abundant 
supply  of  moderately  warmed  air;  and  in  accordance  with  this  in- 
tention we  have  provided  for  large  hot-air  pipes  and  registers  every- 
where. That  this  will  involve  greater  expense,  both  in  the  original 
cost  of  the  apparatus  and  in  consumption  of  fuel,  than  would  be 
necessary  for  obtaining  the  same  amount  of  warmth  by  means  of  a 
smaller  volume  of  hotter  air  from  a  furnace  with  less  radiating  sur- 
face, we  have  frankly  told  him,  but  he  is  wise  enough  ta  think  that 
true  economy  lies  in  sacrificing  something  for  the  sake  of  the  health 
and  good  spirits  which  only  fresh  air  can  give. 

He  is,  indeed,  so  bent  upon  securing  a  perfectly  pure  atmosphere 
in  his  house  in  winter  as  to  be  quite  alarmed  when  we  propose  to  him 
the  purchase  of  a  cast-iron  apparatus,  and  reads  to  us  extracts  from 
the  circulars  of  various  manufacturers  of  wrought-iron  furnaces, 
which,  as  he  says,  "  prove  "  that  carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide,  and 
other  deleterious  gases  "pass  freely  through  the  pores  of  cast-iron," 
and  escape  into  the  house.  We  assure  him  that  this  danger  is 
greatly  exaggerated,  if  not  entirely  imaginary ;  while  the  large  ra- 
diating surface,  which  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  effect  which  he 
desires,  can  be  had  only  in  one  or  two  costly  forms  of  wrought-iron 
furnace,  most  of  these  consisting  simply  of  a  short  cylinder  of  sheet 
metal,  inverted  over  the  fire-pot,  and  presenting  a  very  limited,  but 
very  hot  surface  to  the  air  flowing  past  it.  As  air  can  only  be 
warmed  by  actual  contact  with  a  heated  body,  such  a  furnace,  if  set 
in  a  large  casing,  with  ample  supply  of  air,  instead  of  warming  the 
whole  to  a  moderate  degree  would  heat  a  small  portion  intensely, 
leaving  the  remainder  as  cold  as  ever,  and  the  registers  would  either 
deliver  into  the  rooms  alternate  puffs  of  very  hot  and  very  cold  air, 
or  certain  rooms  only  could  be  heated,  at  the  expense  of  the  others. 
To  be  operated  successfully,  this  sort  of  apparatus  must  be  fitted 
with  a  small  air-chamber,  and  small  pipes  and  regis- 
Surface.  ters'  The  casinS  of  the  air-chamber  is  then  heated 
by  radiation  from  the  dome  of  the  furnace,  close  by, 
and  the  small  volume  of  air  which  passes  between  the  two  surfaces 
is  thoroughly  and  strongly  warmed,  acquiring  thereby  a  powerful 
ascensive  force,  which  throws  it  easily  in  any  required  direction 
through  pipes  of  appropriate  size,  and  heats  the  rooms  above,  not  by 
introducing  a  full  volume  of  warm  air,  but  by  means  of  a  small  cur- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  171 

rent  of  very  hot  air ;  which  mixes  with  that  already  in  the  apart* 
ment,  so  as  to  raise  the  whole  to  the  required  temperature. 

To  obtain  an  abundant  supply  of  moderately  warm  air,  it  is  essen- 
tial, as  furnaces  are  now  constructed,  to  provide  a  large  air-chamber, 
and  distribute  the  smoke-tubes  and  other  radiating 
surfaces  in  it  in  such  a  way  that  the  air  cannot  pass 
through  without  striking  one  or  more  of  them.  The 
air  issuing  from  such  a  furnace  will  all  be  warm,  instead  of  partly 
cold  and  partly  hot,  as  it  would  be  without  this  division  of  the  heating 
surface ;  and  the  quantity  being  greater,  a  much  lower  temperature 
will  suffice  to  produce  the  same  effect  in  warming  the  rooms  above. 

Most  cast-iron  furnaces  are  designed  with  special  reference  to  this 
end,  which  has  been  recognized  as  desirable  ever  since  heating  appa- 
ratus first  came  into  use ;  and  many  of  them  secure  it  tolerably  well. 
Unfortunately,  the  castings  are  sometimes  defective,  and  the  joints 
are  subject  in  several  forms  to  separate  or  break  by  the  effect  of  ex- 
pansion and  contraction,  with  the  result  of  allowing  smoke  and  gas 
to  escape  and  mingle  with  the  fresh  air  in  the  pipes.  We  have,  how- 
ever, selected  a  pattern  in  which  the  castings  appear  on  close  exam- 
ination smooth  and  sound,  and  the  joints,  while  occurring  at  the  most 
favorable  points,  are  all  put  together  with  short  sleeves,  which  allow 
of  expansion  and  contraction  without  harm.  Unlike  most  furnaces, 
which  receive  the  air  from  the  cold-air  box  a  little  above  the  level  of 
the  ash  reservoir,  ours  is  intended  to  stand  over  a  pit  dug  in  the 
cellar  floor,  into  which  the  cold  air  is  brought  by  an  underground 
conduit,  to  circulate  first  beneath  the  pan  of  ashes  before  it  ascends 
among  the  hotter  surfaces  above.  Unless  the  ground  below  the  cel- 
lar bottom  is  well  drained,  such  subterranean  conduits  are  liable  to 
infiltrations  of  unwholesome  moisture,  and  this  point  should  be  deter- 
mined before  the  choice  of  apparatus  is  made.  The  air  trunk  is 
made  of  brick,  with  brick  bottom,  plastered  with  cement,  and  cov- 
ered with  flag-stones.  The  pit  into  which  it  opens  is  walled  with 
brick ;  the  same  wall  being  extended  upward  if  the  furnace  is  to  be 
"brick-set,"  or  forming  merely  the  foundation  for  the  sheet-iron 
casing  if  the  "  portable  ;  variety  is  used.  A  brick  pier  in  the  cen- 
tre serves  to  support  the  heavy  castings  Above.  Into  the  further 
end  of  the  brick  trunk  is  cemented  the  cold-air  box,  of  iron  or  wood, 
which  brings  air  to  the  furnace  from  a  window  or  other  opening. 


178  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  superintendent  must  see  that  the  cold-air  box  is  not  made  too 
small.  The  obvious  rule  for  determining  the  proper  size  is  that  it 
should  be  capable  of  conveying  into  the  furnace- 
Box.  chamber  as  much  air  as  is_to  be  drawn  out  by  means 
of  the  registers ;  or,  to  put  it  in  another  way,  that  the 
capacity  of  the  cold-air  box  should  be  equal  to  that  of  all  the  hot-air 
pipes  which  will  ever  be  in  use  at  one  time,  less  one-sixth,  which 
represents  the  gain  in  volume  which  the  air  acquires  by  expansion 
in  passing  through  the  furnace.  In  our  present  example,  the  regis- 
ters in  the  parlor,  dining-room,  hall,  and  staircase-hall  are,  for  the 
sake  of  insuring  an  abundant  ventilation,  supplied  through  circular 
tin  pipes,  twelve  inches  in  diameter.  Two  chambers  in  the  second 
story  have  ten-inch  pipes,  two  have  eight-inch,  and  the  bath-room 
has  a  six-inch  supply.  The  aggregate  sectional  area  of  these  will 
be,  expressed  in  square  feet,  (I2-}-  !2-f  !2-f-l2-j-  (}£)2  +  ({£)2-f 
(f)2_J-  (|)2_j_  (|)2  x  .7854  =5.13  square  feet.  Six-sevenths  of  5.13 
will  be  4.39  square  feet,  and  this  will  be  the  necessary  minimum  sec- 
tional area  of  the  cold-air  conduit  to  insure  a  supply  of  warm  air  at 
each  of  the  nine  registers,  in  case  they  are  all  open  at  once,  as  they 
should  generally  be.  If  the  cold-air  box  is  made  smaller  than  this 
calculation  would  require,  the  flow  of  warm  air  at  the  registers  will 
be  feeble  and  uncertain,  or  "  wiredrawn,"  or  perhaps  at  some  of 
them  it  may  cease  entirely,  or  even  be  reversed  by  the  draught  of 
the  longer  pipes,  which,  unable  to  obtain  through  the  contracted 
cold-air  box  the  quantity  which  they  require,  draw  down  through  the 
registers  nearest  the  furnace  an  additional  supply. 

Where  so  liberal  a  provision  of  fresh  air  is  to  be  made,  it  is  par- 
ticularly necessary  to  see  that  the  outer  opening  of  the  supply-con- 
duit is  not  so  situated  as  to  be  unfavorably  acted  upon 
by  the  wind.  It  is  usual  to  place  the  opening  toward 
the  north  or  west,  as  the  coldest  winds  come  from  those  points,  and 
while  they  blow  the  air  is  drawn  through  the  furnace  with  greater 
rapidity  than  usual,  and  if  fire  enough  is  kept  up,  the  supply  of 
warm  air  at  the  registers  is  correspondingly  increased.  There  is, 
however,  under  these  circumstances,  some  danger  that  a  high  wind 
may  drive  the  air  through  the  conduit  so  rapidly  that  it  cannot  stay 
long  enough  to  get  warmed  on  the  passage,  and  blows  out  from  the 
registers  in  a  chilly  stream ;  and  to  guard  against  this  a  slide-damper 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  179 

is  usually  inserted,  which  can  be  partially  closed  to  temper  the  for:e 
of  the  incoming  blast;  but  if  a  change  then  takes  place  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  breeze,  the  furnace  is  left  without  its  needful  supply  of 
air.  Occasionally  the  single  inlet  proves  to  be  the  source  of  still 
worse  troubles.  If,  while  it  remains  open,  a  violent  wind  should 
spring  up  from  the  quarter  opposite  to  that  toward  which  it  faces, 
the  partial  vacuum  which  always  exists  on  the  lee  side  of  a  building 
may  become  so  decided  as  to  cause  air  from  within  the  house  to  flow 
toward  it  by  the  most  direct  channel,  which  will  be  downward 
through  the  registers,  into  the  air-chamber  of  the  furnace,  and 
thence  by  means  of  the  cold-air  box  to  the  outside.  By  this  reversal 
of  the  ordinary  course,  not  only  are  the  rooms  deprived  of  heat,  but 
the  air  drawn  from  them  at  a  comparatively  high  temperature 
becomes  intensely  hot  in  passing  again  over  the  radiating  surfaces 
of  the  furnace,  and  may  even,  if  the  cold-air  box  is  of  wood,  be  the 
means  of  setting  this  on  fire,  and  with  it  the  house  itself.  This  is  a 
much  more  common  accident  than  most  persons  imagine,  and  safety 
as  well  as  comfort  make  it  important  to  guard  against  the  causes 
which  may  occasion  it. 

The  simplest  way  of  preventing  reversed  currents  in  the  cold-air 
box  is  to  give  it  two  openings  to  the  outer  air,  as  nearly  as  possible 
opposite  to  each  other ;  then,  whatever  may  be  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  the  air  cannot  be  drawn  out  of  the  furnace.  It  may,  however, 
still  blow  through  the  registers,  and  a  still  better  mode  is  to  carry 
the  cold-air  box  entirely  across  the  building,  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  furnace,  opening  to  the  outside  at  each  end,  drawing  from  this 
the  supply  to  the  furnace  by  means  of  a  short,  but  sufficiently  capa- 
cious pipe,  opening  into  the  main  conduit,  at  right  angles  to  it. 
Then  the  wind  may  blow  at  will  through  the  main  trunk,  without 
affecting  the  current  in  the  short  pipe,  which  will  continue  to  draw 
at  all  times  just  the  supply  that  the  furnace  needs,  and  no  moic. 

Whether  the  cold-air  box  shall  be  made  of  wood  or  metal  is  a 
question  to  be  decided  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  case. 
Galvanized  iron  has  the  great  advantages  of  being 
impermeable,  so  that  no  cellar  air  can  be  mixed  with  cold-Air  Box. 
the  pure  current  from  out  of  doors  or  its  passage 
through  the  furnace  and  the  pipes,  and  of  being  fire-proof,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  danger,  however  hard  the  wind  may  blow,  of  having 


180  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  building  set  on  fire  by  an  unexpected  back  draught ;  but  it  is  very 
expensive,  and  those  who  wish  to  secure  its  advantages  must  pay  for 
them.  On  explaining  the  matter  to  our  client,  we  find  that  even  hia 
enthusiasm  for  fresh  air  is  a. little  darapejl  at  learning  that  a  galvan- 
ized-iron  air-box  for  his  furnace  would  cost  more  than  the  furnace 
itself,  and  he  takes  the  question  under  consideration  for  a  few  days ; 
but  an  inspection  of  the  wooden  air-boxes  in  the  houses  of  his 
friends  shows  them  to  be  full  of  crevices,  sometimes  large  enough  to 
admit  the  hand,  and  in  all  cases  quite  capable  of  allowing  an  unlim- 
ited amount  of  cellar  air  and  dust  to  be  drawn  into  the  furnace  and 
discharged  into  the  rooms  above,  so  that  he  finally  declares  in  favor 
of  an  impervious  conduit  at  any  cost. 

The  concreting  of  the  cellar  floor  is  generally  done  before  the  fur- 
nace is  set,  to  avoid  spattering  the  iron  or  brickwork  with  mortar, 
but  all  air  conduits,  ash  pits,  and  other  work  below 
the  floor  level  should  be  completed,  to  avoid  breaking 
into  the  concrete  coating  subsequently.  The  thickness  of  the  stratum 
should  be  determined  by  circumstances.  On  very  soft  soil  four  to  six 
inches  may  be  necessary  to  prevent  settlement  and  cracks,  but  under 
ordinary  conditions  it  may  with  safety  be  made  three  inches  thick.  If 
less  than  this  the  falling  of  heavy  weights  upon  it,  or  long-continued 
movement  on  it,  may  break  it,  and  when  once  fractured  it  crumbles 
and  deteriorates  rapidly.  Only  the  very  best  fresh  cement  should  be 
used,  otherwise  the  concrete  will  be  weak,  and  attrition  will  reduce 
it  easily  into  dust.  The  proper  proportion  of  ingredients  is  one 
shovelful  of  cement  to  two  of  sand,  first  well  mixed  together,  and 
then  quickly  stirred  up  with  three  shovelfuls  of  screened  pebbles 
or  broken  stone,  and  immediately  spread  upon  the  floor.  The 
country  masons,  to  whom  a  cellar  without  water  in  it  in  spring 
would  seem  almost  abnormal,  generally  give  the  concrete  an  in- 
clination to  some  point  from  which  it  can  be  drained  away  to  the 
outside,  but  we  do  not  intend,  and  if  our  directions  have  been 
thoroughly  enforced  we  need  not  fear,  that  any  water  will  penetrate 
our  walls,  and  no  provision  is  therefore  necessary  for  carrying  it  off. 
After  the  furnace  is  set  and  the  concreting  finished, 
and  while  the  plumber  is  completing  his  work,  the 
joinery  of  the  house  wilt  be  going  on.  The  first  step  is  usually  the 
setting  of  the  door-frames,  and  the  superintendent  will  need  to 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


181 


refresh  liis  memory  in  regard  to  the  specified  sizes  and  heights  o! 
the  doors,  and  measure  each  frame  as  it  is  set,  or  risk  finding,  too 
late,  that  transpositions  of  the  most  annoying  kind  have  been  made 
in  them.  The  frames  are  also  very  apt  to  be  set  out 
of  square  (Fig.  148).  so  that  the  door  must  be  subse- 
quently bevelled  off  to  fit  them,  giving  a  slovenly  appearance  to  the 
whole  work.  This  should  be  provided  against 
by  rigid  testing  with  the  try- square  and  plumb- 
rule.  Pocket-rules  are  sold  at  the  hardware 
stores,  containing  a  level,  and  a  folding  steel 
blade,  which  can  be  adjusted  so  as  to  form 
nearly  a  right  angle,  and  although  their  use- 
fulness would  be  much  increased  if  they  were 
more  accurately  made,  the  young  architect  will 
Fig.  148.  find  them  of  service.  In  default  of  some  such 

tool,  the  diagonals  of  the  frame  may  be  measured  with  a  string,  or 
a  piece  of  wood :  if  they  agree  the  frame  is  rectangular,  though  not 
necessarily  plumb. 

The  height,  width,  and  rectangularity  of  the  frames  once  verified, 
the  position  of  the  rebates  should  be  noted  to  make  sure  that  the 
doors  will  be  hung  on  the  side  intended.  It  is  usual  to 
mark  the  swinging  of  the  doors  on  the  plans,  but 
workmen  rarely  trouble  themselves  to  look  at  the 
drawings  for  information  in  regard  to  such  matters,  and  after  it  is 
too  late  to  change  them  the  doors  are  very  apt,  especially  in  inferior 
rooms,  to  be  found  opening  across  stairs  or  passage-ways,  against  gas 
brackets,  or  in  some  other  inconvenient  manner.  While  considering 
this  point  the  superintendent  may  make  sure  that  the  doors  will  be 
hung  on  the  proper  edge,  as  well  as  the  right  side  of  the  partition, 
by  marking  the  position  of  the  hinges  on  the  frames  in  accordance 
with  the  plans,  or  perhaps  modifying  these  if  circumstances  render 
it  advisable. 

Next  comes  the  application  of  the  "standing  finish," — architraves, 
wainsco*:ings,  and  bases.  Modern  moulded  work  is  almost  invariably 
cut  with  revolving  knives,  under  which  it  is  drawn  by  fluted  cylinders, 
whose  edges,  in  order  to  obtain  a  firm  grip  of  the  standing  Fin- 
piece,  press  so  strongly  against  it  as  to  cause  slight  lsn- 
transverse  indentations  on  the  prominent  portions,  varving  from 


Swinging  of 
Doors. 


182 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


a  quarter  to  a  third  of  an  inch  apart,  which  injure  its  appearance  very 
eeriously  unless  the  marks  are  subsequently  smoothed  off  with  sand- 
paper. For  hard  wood  even  this  will  not  be  enough,  and  the  flat 
surfaces  should  be  dressed -with  an  ordinary  plane  to  prevent  the 
reappeai  ance  of  the  ridges  after  polishing.  Sheathing  boards  and 
mill-wrought  stock  of  all  kinds  for  good  interior  work  should  be 
smoothed  with  the  plane  in  the  same  way.  This  adds  considerably 
to  the  expense,  and  cheap  contractors  will  shirk  it  if  they  can,  but  it 
should  be  insisted  upon. 

Another  way  in  which  the  inferior  class  of  builders   often  try  to 
gain   some   advantage  for  themselves  is  by  "splicing"  architrave 

Splicing  of    mouldings   (Fig.   149),  out  of   short 

Mouldings,  pieces.  As  the  mouldings  come  from 
the  mill  in  lengths  of  ten  to  fourteen  feet,  there  is 
considerable  waste  in  cutting  unless  some  mode  is 
provided  for  utilizing  the  short  pieces,  but  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  spliced  architrave  is  so  bad  as  to 
make  it  inadmissible  in  good  work.  Horizontal  fin- 
ish, such  as  bases,-wainscots,  wooden  cornices,  and 
chair-rails,  must,  however,  be  spliced,  and  care  will 
be  necessary  to  see  that  the  adjoining  pieces  are 
properly  matched,  and  that  the  joints  do  not  come 
in  conspicuous  situations. 

The  stairs  will  need  constant  attention  to  secure  a  satisfactory 
result.  Before  any  work  is  done  upon  them,  the  superintendent 
should  examine  the  plans  to  make  sure  that  none  of  the  flights 
are  too  narrow  or  too  steep,  and  that  there  is  ample 
head-room  where  any  passage  is  intended  beneath 
them.  The  draughtsmen  who  prepare  working  plans  from  the 
architect's  sketches  sometimes  fail  to  comprehend  fulbr  the  structure 
which  their  drawings  indicate,  or  forget  to  make  the  necessary  allow- 
nnce  for  thickness  of  floors,  stair-timbers,  and  landings.  Where  a 
passage-way  or  flight  of  stairs  is  planned  under  another  flight,  the 

clear  vertical  height  beneath  the  latter  may  be  ascer- 
Head  Room.  J 

tamed  by  counting  the  number  of  risers  to  the  point 

where  the  head-room  is  to  be  calculated,  multiplying  this  quantity 
by  the  height  of  each  riser  as  found  by  dividing  the  total  distance 
from  floor  to  floor  by  the  whole  number  of  risers,  and  subtracting 


Fig    149. 


Stairs. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


189 


from  the  dimension  so  found  at  least  eighteen  inches,  which  will 
represent  the  vertical  measurement  from  the  top  of  the  tread,  just 
over  the  riser,  to  the  under  side  of  the  plastering,  in  ordinary  stairs. 
If  the  flight  is  steep,  twenty  inches,  or  even  more,  must  be  taken, 

while  with  long,  straight 
flights  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  reinforce  the 
stringers  with  whole  tim- 
bers, or  "carriage  tim- 
bers," (Fig.  150),  set 
parallel  with  them,  but 
at  a  sufficient  distance 
below  to  clear  the  inner 

angle  of  the  steps,  which  will  increase  the  total 
vertical  depth  between  top  of  tread  and  under  side  of 
plaster  to  thirty  inches  or  more.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered also  that  a  person  in  descending  a  flight  of  stairs  usually  leans 
forward,  and  that  the  headway  under  a  trimmer  beam  which  appears 
ample  where  the  vertical  height  alone  is  taken  may  prove  insuflicient 
in  execution. 

Inferior  stairways  often  show  defects  of  planning,  independent  of 
miscalculations  in  regard  to  head-room.     It  is  not  uncommon  to  see 


Fig.  ISO. 


Fig.  151.  Fig.  152. 

such  stairs  indicated  as  are  shown  in  Figure  151,  where  a  person 
descending  in  the  dark  might,  with  a  single  step,  from  S  or  X,  fall 
three  or  four  feet.  The  stair-builder  would  probably  take  upon  him- 
self the  responsibility  of  changing  the  flight  from  the  "  dog-legged  " 
form  shown  in  Figure  151  to  an  "open  newel, "  (Fig.  152),  adding  a 
square  "  step  in  the  well "  W,  and  putting  two  instead  of  three  "  wind- 
ers" in  each  turn,  thus  making  the  stairs  comparatively  safe  and 


184 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


Height  of  Risers. 


convenient,  though  narrower  than  the  first  plan  intended;  but  it  is 

unsafe  to  depend  upon  his  thoughtf  ulness  to  correct  errors.    Another 

fault  often  seen  in  back  stairs  is  the  filling  up  ot  the  well  on  one  floor 

by  a  closet,  while  the  stairway 

below  is  left  open.      (Fig.  153.) 

The  point  of  the  floor,  P,  is  in 

this  case  apt  to  project  over  the 

stairs  in  dangerous  proximity  to 

the  heads  of  those  passing  up  or 

down,  and  should  be  protected 

by  sheathing,   at  least  on  one 

side,  down  to  the  rail.  Fig.  153. 

The  steps  should  not  be  too  steep.  For  inferior  stairs  the  risers 
may  be  8  inches  and  the  treads  9  inches,  to  which  the  nosing  will 
add  1£  inches  more,  making  the  whole  width  of  the 
step  10^  inches;  but  this  should  be  regarded  as 
the  limit.  As  the  height  of  the  risers  is  diminished,  for  superior 
staircases,  the  width  of  tread  must  be  increased ;  the  best  rule  being 
that  the  product  obtained  by  multiplying  the  measure  in  inches  of  rise 
and  tread  together  should  not  be  less  than  70,  or  more  than  75. 
Seven  and  a  half  by  ten  inches  is  suitable  for  ordinary  cases;  seven 
by  ten  and  a  half  is  unusually  easy,  and  six  by  twelve  gives  an  air 
of  old-fashioned  luxury  to  a  staircase.  Some  ancient  mansions  pos- 
sess flights  which  rise  only  five  or  five  and  a  half  inches  at  each  step, 
but  these  are  hardly  comfortable  to  our  unaccustomed  feet. 

The  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  staircase  as  exe- 
cuted will  correspond  with  the  plans,  or,  if  mistakes  in  framing  or 
miscalculations  in  regard  to  headway  should  have  rendered  this 
impossible,  that  the  difficulty  is  remedied  in  the  best  way.  It  is  a 
very  common  experience  with  young  architects  to  be  obliged  to  modify 
their  designs  on  this  account,  and  their  ingenuity,  as  well  as  the 
patience  of  the  stair-builder,  will  often  be  severely  taxed  to  extricate 
themselves  with  credit  from  an  unexpected  difficulty.  The  stair- 
builder  himself  is  liable  to  errors,  and  his  work  should  be  examined 
with  particular  care  at  the  outset,  in  order,  if  necessary,  to  set  him 
right  before  the  progress  of  the  building  has  made  it  difficult  and 
expensive  to  remedy  faults  which  would  have  been  trifling  if  dis- 
covered earlier. 


BUILDING  SUPEK1NTENDENCE. 


185 


Even  in  putting  up  the  rough  "stringers"  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
Bee  mistakes  made,  which  if  passed  over  will  spoil  the  effect  of  the 
finished  structure. 

Although  many  architects  mark  the  calculated  height  of  the 
risers  on  their  staircase  plans,  it  seldom  happens  that  the  actual 

and  theoretical 
distance     from 
floor    to    floor 
*ee  exactly,  and 
a  pole  should,  in  prac- 
tice, always  be  cut  to  the 
exact  length  on  the  spot,  and 
this  divided  into  equal  parts,  cor- 
responding to  the  number  of  risers 
required.  From  this  measure  the  notches 
in  the  strings  can  be  set  out  with  accuracy. 
(Fig.  154.)      Without    such    precaution,    the 
Fig.  154.         strings  may,  on  arrival  at  the  building,  be  found  a 
fraction  of  an  inch  too  low,  so  that  the  top-most  step  must  be  blocked 
up  to  a  greater  height  than  the  rest  in  order  to  gain   the   floor 

(Fig.  155.)  More  fre- 
quently, the  string  will  be 
found  to  have  been  cut 


too  long, 
and  one  of 
the  steps  must  be 
made  shallower  than 
the  rest,  or  the  strings 
must  be  allowed  to  lean  back- 

F,g.  155.  Fig.  156.      ward.    (Fig.  156.)    Such  misfits 

should  be  sharply  looked  out  for,  and  condemned  immediately  if  de- 
tected. The  cutting  of  a  new  set  of  strings  is  a  small  matter,  while 
stairs  of  varying  height,  or  out  of  level,  are  dangerous  as  well  a* 
unsightly. 


186 


B UILDJLN  U    S  UPE1UNTEX  DENCE. 


Fig.  159. 


Stair-builders  and  carpenters  often  content  themselves  witn  very 
frail  supports  to  tlieir  work,  especially  on  landings,  and  this  point 
should  receive  careful  attention.  After  all  is  ready  for  the  steps,  the 
risers  are  sometimes  first  put  on,  the  back  edges  of 
the  treads  inserted  into  grooves  cut  for  them  in  the 
risers,  and  the  nosings  finally 
put  in  place  (Fig.  157),  and 
glued,  securing  the  whole  to- 
gether. Generally,  however, 
the  risers  and  treads  are  put 
together,  blocked  and  glued  at 
the  shop,  and  the  steps  brought 
complete  to  the  building,  ready 
for  setting  in  place.  In  this 
case  the  nosings  are  not  ploughed  into  the  under  side  of  the  treads, 
but  are  simply  nailed  into  the  angle  formed  by  the  riser  and  the  nos- 
ing. (Fig.  158.) 

Whether  the  necessary  connection  between  the  steps  themselves 
shall  be  made  by  grooving  the  inner  edge  of  the  tread  into  the  face 
of  the  riser  of  the  next  step  above,  as  shown  in  Figure  157,  or  by  in- 
verting the  process,  and  ploughing  the  lower  edge  of  the  riser  into 
the  top  of  the  tread  below  (Fig.  159),  is  a  matter  about  which  the 
practice  of  stair-builders  varies.  Those  who  choose 
the  latter  mode  justify  their  preference  on  the  ground 
that  by  the  shrinkage  of  the  tim- 
bers and  settlement  of  the  strings, 
the  support  may  be  taken  away  from 
the  inner  edge  of  the  tread,  throw- 
ing, if  this  is  grooved  into  the  riser, 
whatever  weight  may  come  upon  it 
Fig.  160.  on  the  tongue,  which  is  liable  to 


Fig.  161. 


split  off  (Fig.  160),  while  by  the  other  method  the  tread  is  free  to 
follow  its  supporting  timber,  the  only  result  of  the  movement  being 
the  partial  drawing  out  of  the  tongue  in  the  riser.  (Fig.  161.) 

In  practice,  however,  the  first  system  is  preferable  for  stairs  over 
which  the  traffic  is  as  light  as  is  usual  in  dwelling-houses.  When  the 
risers  are  tongued  down  into  the  treads,  the  tongue  necessarily  escapes 
the  painting  or  other  finish,  so  that  when  it  begins  to  draw  out,  a 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


187 


streak  of  a  different  color  is  exposed  at  the  bottom  of  each,  forming 
a  very  conspicuous  defect. 

The  molded  "  nosing  "  of  the  steps  should  be  formed  as  indicated 
on  the  sectional  sketches,  the  front  of  the  tread  being  rounded,  and 
ploughed  beneath  for  the  insertion  of  the  upper  edge  of  the  riser. 
In  "open  string"  stairs  (Fig.  162),  where  the  level  top  of  the  tread 


Fig.  162. 


Fig.  163. 


appears  at  the  end,  the  nosing  is  continued  across  it  by  means  of  a 
piece  of  wood  moulded  to  the  full  shape,  one  end  mitering  into  the 
angle  left  for  the  purpose  at  the  front  corner  of  the  tread,  while  the 
other  "returns  on  itself  "  at  a  point  vertically  under  the  edge  of  the 
next  riser.  Before  these  pieces  are  finally  put  on,  the  dovetails  at 
the  edge  of  the  tread,  intended  to  hold  the  balusters, 
should  be  cut  out.  The  balusters  may  then  be  fitted 
in,  and  the  nosing  being  nailed  firmly  in  place  holds 
all  secure.  The  best  stair-builders  tack  the  pieces  temporarily  to- 
gether, so  as  to  insure  a  perfect  fit,  before  the  final  nailing.  Builders 
of  the  poorest  class  sometimes  dispense  with  the  dovetailing  of  the 
balusters,  and  simply  fasten  them  in  place  by  a  nail  driven  diagonally 
through  the  foot  into  the  tread  after  the  nosing  is  finished :  this  gives 
a  weak  as  well  as  uneven  balustrade,  and  should  never  be  permitted. 
The  upper  ends  of  the  balusters  are  almost  always  secured  with  nails 
to  the  hand-rail,  even  in  the  best  work. 


188  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

With  regard  to  the  finish  around  the  inner  ends  of  the  stairs,  the 
practice  of  different  localities  varies  somewhat.  Whether  it  consists 
of  a  wainscot  or  a  simple  base,  it  is  in  many  places  customary  to  trace 
upon  the  lower  portion  the  exact  profil^'of  the  stairs  (Fig.  163),  in- 
cluding the  nosings,  and  sink  it  to  a  depth  of  half  an  inch  by  mean? 
of  chisels  and  gouges.  This  "  wall  string  "  base  or  wainscot  is  fixed 
to  the  walls  before  the  stairs  are  put  up,  and  the  ends  of  the  steps 
as  fast  as  put  on,  are  "  housed  "  into  the  grooves  ready  to  receive 
them.  If  nicely  done,  this  is  a  strong  and  handsome  mode  of  fitting 
but  the  workmanship  must  obviously  be  very  careful  and  accurate. 
In  New  England  a  different  mode  is  adopted,  rather  easier  in  execu- 
tion :  for  this,  the  treads  and  risers  of  the  steps  are  grooved,  before 
putting  together,  about  |  of  an  inch  from  the  inner  end,  and  the 
base  or  lower  member  of  the  wainscot  is  roughly  "  scribed  "  to  the 
profile  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  steps,  and  the  lower  edge  then  cut 
away  so  as  to  form  a  tongue.  After  the  steps  are  all  secured  in  place, 
the  base  is  applied  and  driven  home  with  a  mallet. 

The  proper  termination  of  the  rail  at  the  top  of  a  staircase,  where, 
being  no  longer  continued  upward,  it  must  be  carried  across  to  stop 
against  the  wall,  is  a  matter  not  always  considered  when  the  draw- 
ings and  specifications  are  made.     The  best  finish  is  obtained  by 
placing  a  half-post  against  the  wall;  but  if  this  is  not 
mentioned   in   the  contract  documents,  a  makeshift, 
consisting  of  a  round  cast-iron  plate,  with  a  socket  to  receive  the 
rail,  and  screwed  to  the  wall,  is  likely  to  be  substituted  for  it. 

As  soon  as  the  treads  and  landings  are  in  place,  the  broken  boards 
of  the  under  floor,  and  the  places  cut  for  the  plumbers 
Upper  Floors.  and  ?as.fitters  should  be  repaired,  and  the  laying  of 
the  upper  floors  may  begin.     This  is  usually  commenced  in  the  top- 
most story,  in  order  that  each  floor,  as  completed  and  planed  off, 
may  be  swept  out  and  the  rooms  locked.     For  floors 
intended  to  be  carpeted   spruce  forms  the  ordinary 
material  north  of  New  York.     It  is  cheap,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
being  very  free  from  knots  and  defects,  so  that  a  room  laid  with  it 
looks  clean  and  handsome.      The  adhesion  of  the  annual  rings  is, 
however,  very  slight  in  spruce  timber,  and  boards  taken  off  the  out- 
side of  the  log  (Fig.  164),  which  may  be  recognized  by  their  grain 
or  "figure,"  like   Figure  165,  are   liable,  after   being  dried   by  a 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


189 


winters  furnace  heat,  to  splinter  up  in  a  most  annoying  manner; 

or  if  the  rings  do  not  separate,  the  boards  are  likely  to  curl  up 
(Fig.  166),  forming  ridges  which  rapidly 
cut  the  carpets  laid  over  them.  Both  the 
defects  will  be  avoided  by  choosing  spruce 
boards  in  which  the  figure  consists  rather 
of  fine  parallel  lines,  indicating  that  the 
annual  rings  are  divided  in  a  direction 
nearly  parallel  to  the  radius  of  the  trunk 

(B  Fig.  164).  Very  white, 

/       ./  'Sapling  Spruce. 

clear  boards  with  no  ap- 
parent figure  are  often  cut  from  sapling 
trees,  but  are  soft,  and  liable  to  excessive 
shrinkage.     In  the  Middle  States  pine  is  the  favorite 
flooring  material.     It  is  softer  than  spruce,  and  little 
liable  to  curl  or  splinter.     Clear  pine,  however,  is  very  costly,  and 
the  second  quality,  which  is  generally  used,  contains 
small  knots  and  streaks  of  "  blue  sap,"  so  that  a  floor 
finished  with  it  is  not  quite  so  agreeable  to  the  eye  as  one  of  good 
spruce. 


164. 


Pine. 


Fig.  165 


Fig. 166. 

The  mode  of  laying  the  boards  varies  with  the  locality.  The  New 
England  carpenters,  having  a  difficult  material  to  deal  with,  have 
learned  to  treat  it  with  great  skill.  Their  upper  floors  of  spruce,  in 
the  better  rooms,  are  usually  specified  to  be  laid  with 
boards  not  over  four  inches  wide.  Attics  may  have 
six-inch  boards,  but  wider  ones  than  these  are  only 
permissible  in  closets  and  store-rooms.  The  boards,  whatever  their 
width,  are  "  jointed,"  or  planed  on  the  edges  until  these  are  made 
absolutely  straight  and  parallel,  then  stacked  in  the  kiln  or  "  dry- 


130  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

house  "  until  all  moisture  is  evaporated  from  them,  and  brought  di- 
rectly from  the  dry- house  to  the  building.  Beginning  at  one  side  of 
the  room,  they  are,  or  should  be,  laid  .in  "  courses,"  from  end  to  end 
of  the  room,  breaking  joints  as  frequently  as  possible.  Where  all 
the  boards  are  of  exactly  the  same  width,  as  should  be  the  case  in 
the  best  rooms,  the  joints  may,  and  should  be,  broken  at  every  course, 
but  as  this  involves  some  waste  of  stock,  it  is  usually  necessary  to 
aiake  "  sti  aight  joints  "  through  three  or  four  courses,  before  the 
rarying  widths  of  the  boards  on  each  side  of  the  joint  will  add  up 
to  an  equal  sum,  so  as  to  admit  of  its  being  crossed  by  the  next 
course.  A  straight  joint  of  more  than  four  courses  should  riot  be 
allowed  in  rooms  intended  to  be  carpeted,  for  fear  of  causing  a 
,'idge;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  all  heading  joints 
should  come  upon  a  beam.  "  Flooring  clamps  "  are  used  to  force 
sach  board  closely  up  to  the  side  of  its  neighbor,  and  it  is  usual  to 
jack  the  boards  at  first  with  a  few  nails  only,  und  after  all  are  in 
place  to  line  them  with  a  chalked  string,  or  straight-edge  and  pen- 
cil, over  the  centre  of  the  beams  below,  driving  the  nails  to  com- 
plete the  work  on  the  lines  so  marked. 

Before  laying  the  upper  boarding,  it  is  necessary  in  good  houses 
to  spread  one,  two,  or  three  layers  of  felt  over  the  under-boarding, 
in  order  to  prevent  air  from  passing  through  the  joints,  and  also,  by 
the  interposition  of  a  non-resonant  material,  to  check 
°'  the  transmission  of  sound.  Cane  fibre  makes  a  clean, 
dry  material,  which  will  not  harbor  moths,  but  a  coarse  felt  of  wool- 
len rags  is  commonly  used.  Certain  varieties  are  so  prepared  as  to 
be  incombustible,  and,  especially  if  used  in  several  thicknesses,  may 
prove  valuable  in  preventing  the  spread  of  fire  from  one  story  of  a 
house  to  another.  The  felt  paper  made  for  the  purpose  from  asbes- 
tos is  the  best  of  these,  but  is  very  expensive ;  the  Phoenix  paper, 

^^7///f/////////M/!M^i^^ 

Fig.   167. 

made  in  New  York,  costs  but  little  more  than  ordinary  felt,  and  re- 
sists fire  very  effectually,  which  cannot  be  said  of  many  so-called 
"  fire-proof  "  sheathing  papers. 

In  the  Middle  States,  particularly  where  ordinary  floors  are  laid 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  191 

with  a  single  thickness  of  boards,  it  is  customary  /o  match  the 
boards  (Fig.  167),  as  otherwise  currents  of  air  would  come  up  freely 
through  the  joints  from  the  spaces  between  the  beams ; 
and  the  influence  of  this  habit,  more  than  any  real 
necessity,  has  made  it  customary  to  match  also  the 
upper  boarding  of  double  floors,  even  in  inferior  rooms.  The  match 
ing  of  spruce  floors  is,  however,  not  to  be  recommended,  as  the  thin 

edge  of  the  grooved  side  of 
the  boards  (Fig.  168),  is  apt 
to  curl  up  or  split  off.  Pine 
is  better  in  this  respect,  but 
stays  in  place  well  enough 
for  an  upper  flooring  without  matching. 

Where  hard  woods  are  used  for  flooring,  matching  is,  on  the  con 
trary,  essential,  since  no  nails  must  appear  on  the  surface  of  such 
floors,  and  the  only  way  of  securing  them  to  the  beams  is  to  drive 

the  nails  diagonally  through  the  ed^es  of  the  boards. 

rTM  •  i  i  Hard  Wood. 

I  his  process  can,  however,  be  applied  only  to  one 

edge  of  each  board,  since  the  other  is  applied  firmly  against  the  side 
of  the  one  which  preceded  it ;  and  in  order  to  hold  the  inner  edge 
down,  it  is  necessary  to  connect  it  with  the  outer  edge  of  the  preced- 
ing board,  by  means  either  of  tongue  and  groove,  or 
of  some  equivalent  device.     These  floors  are  there- 
fore laid  in  narrow  strips,  each  with 


-] — • 1/  the  tongue  projecting   forward  into 

r~^ M — 


the  room,  and  the  nails  are  driven 
/'  diagonally    into    the    upper     angle 

g'  I69t  formed  by  the  tongue  and  the  edge 

of  the  board  (Fig.  169),  securing  this  edge  firmly;  and  the  groove 
of  the  next  strip  is  forced  over  the  tongue  so  secured,  so  as  to  retain 
in  place  its  inner  edge,  while  its  outer  edge,  furnished  with  a  tongue, 
is  in  its  turn  nailed. 

Parquetry  work,  such  as  we  are  to  have  in  one  room,  is  generally 
made  with  much  more  care  than  ordinary  flooring,  and  requires 
special  machinery,  so  that  it  is  best  to  order  it  from  a  regular  manu- 
facturer. In  some  sorts  the  pieces  of  hard  wood  are  but  half  an  inch 
thick,  and  are  dovetailed  and  glued  upon  a  backing  of  pine.  The 
patterns  are  put  together  in  the  factory,  and  sent  out  in  sections 


292 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


some  two  feet  square,  which  are  nailed  down  like  single  boards. 
Simpler  hard-wood  floors  may  be  made  and  put  down  by  the 
carpenter.  The  oak  floor  of  our  hall,  in  accordance  with  the  wish 
of  the  q*fner,  is  put  down  in  the  French 
manner  with  short  pieces  laid  at  an 


Fi*.  170.  Fig.  171. 

angle  of  45°  with  the  beams,  and  at  right  angles  with  each  other. 
(Figs.  170  and  171.) 

Figure  1 70  shows  the  most  common  method,  the  edges  of  the  pieces 
being  matched,  but  the  heading  joints  plain.  In  Figure  171  the  head- 
ing joints  are  tongued  and  grooved  by  hand  as  the  pieces  are  laid, 
so  as  to  fit  into  the  matching  upon  the  edges.  We  choose  the 
former  mode,  as  the  least  expensive,  and  the  easiest  to  execute.  All 
the  other  floors  are  simply  laid  with  narrow  parallel  strips,  2£  inches 
wide  in  the  best  room,  4  inches  in  the  others. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  under  boarding,  where  a  hard- 
wood upper  floor  is  to  be  laid  over  it,  should  be  also  of  narrow  strips, 
not  exceeding  four  inches  at  most ;  if  wider  boards  are  used,  each 
one  of  them  will  in  shrinking  gather  up,  so  to  speak,  a  cluster  of  the 
narrow  hard-wood  pieces  above  it,  and  draw  them  tightly  together, 
and  although  the  shrinkage  of  each  hard-wood  strip,  if  well 
seasoned,  is  very  slight,  the  movement  of  the  wider  board  com- 
presses all  the  joints  over  it,  so  as  to  transfer  the  total  shrinkage  to 
the  joints  immediately  over  its  own  edge.  The  adjoining  wide  board 
of  the  under  flooring  acts  in  the  same  way,  but  in  the  opposite 
direction,  so  that  in  a  few  months  every  board  below  will  be  ex- 
hibited by  an  inordinately  wide  separation  between  the  hard-wood 
strips  above,  the  other  joints  remaining  perfectly  close. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  193 

The  stock  for  upper  flooring  will  need  close  examination.  Even 
with  spruce  it  is  necessary  to  see  that  waney  pieces  are  not  smug- 
gled in,  and  to  look  out  for  knots  and  sap,  while 
hard  wood  is  liable  to  other  defects.  Oak  for  floor- 
ing,  unless  under  severe  wear,  and,  indeed,  for  all 
kinds  of  finish,  should  always  be  quartered,  or  "rift,"  as  some 
say — that  is,  sawed  with  two  cuts  at  right-angles  with  each  other, 
and  through  the  centre  of  the  log,  all  subsequent  cuts  being  as 
nearly  as  possible  on  radial  lipes. 

As  every  one  knows,  oak  is  distinguished  from  all  other  woods  by 
the  "  silver  grain,"  or  medullary  rays,  consisting  of  small  bundles  of 
fibres,  which  shoot  out  laterally  from  the  centre  of  the  trunk,  pas- 
sing through  the  annual  rings  toward  the  bark.  By  quartering  the 
.og,  these  fibres  are  divided  nearly  or  quite  in  the  direction  of  their 
course,  and  show  on  the  surface  of  the  boards  as 
flecks  or  irregular  silvery  streaks,  upon  a  ground  of  oak/6 
fine  parallel  lines,  formed  by  the  section  of  the  annual 
rings.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  log  is  sawed  into  parallel  slices  in 
the  ordinary  manner,  the  middle  slice  will  exhibit  the  silver-grain,  as 
will  also  one  or  two  on  each  side  of  it.  Further  from  the  centre  the 
medullary  rays  will  be  divided  almost  transversely,  appearing  on 
the  cut  surface  as  nearly  imperceptible  lines  or  dashes,  while  the 
section  of  the  annual  rings  will  grow  broader  and  broader,  showing 
itself,  since  the  sap-tubes  of  oak  are  quite  large,  as  a  coarse,  rough 
figure,  completely  different  in  appearance  from  the  delicate  and 
silky  silver-grain,  and  liable  to  a  dingy  discoloration  from  the  en- 
trance of  dust  and  dirt  into  the  exposed  pores.  With  some  varie- 
ties, oak  sawed  in  the  ordinary  way  often  appears  "  brashy,"  or  of  a 
very  coarse  texture,  with  short  fibres  which  break  away  easily. 

The  manner  in  which  the  log  is  sawn  effects  also  its  disposition  to 
warp  and  curl,  which  in  badly  cut  oak  is  very  strong.  The  inner 
portions  of  the  tree  are  compressed  and  hardened  by  age,  so  that 
there  is  a  gradual  diminution  of  density  toward  the  circumference, 
which  is  occupied  by  the  soft  and  spongy  sap-wood.  The  less 
compact  substance  naturally  shrinks  more  in  drying  than  that  which 
is  nearer  the  interior  of  the  log,  but  with  boards  whose  surfaces 
follow  the  radial  lines  the  movements  caused  by  dryness  or  damp 
are  all  in  the  plane  of  these  surfaces,  and  although  the  board 


194  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

varies  in  width,  it  has  no  tendency  to  warp.  Those  boards,  on  the 
contrary,  which  are  cut  in  lines  parallel  with  the  diameter  of  the  log? 
have  one  surface  which  looks  toward  the  back  of  the  tree,  and  the 
other  toward  the  heart,  and  the  fibres  on  pine  side  are  therefore  slight- 
ly softer  than  on  the  other,  and  will  shrink  more,  curling  the  piece 
outward  with  a  force  proportioned  to  its  thickness. 

By  keeping  constantly  in  mind  these  properties  of  oak,  which 
belong  in  some  degree  to  all  kinds  of  timber,  many  annoying  defects 
in  hard-wood  finish  may  be  avoided.  Following  the  same  principle, 
the  Georgia-pine  floors  for  the  inferior  rooms  should  be  specified  of 

rift  stock:  that  is,  of  boards  cut  like  quartered  oak,  on 
Rift  Hard-Pine.      „.;,.'  '  •      iu      i     * 

radial  lines.     Ihese  may  be  recognized  by  the  figure, 

consisting  of  fine  parallel  lines,  in  place  of  the  broad  mottlings  pro- 
duced by  a  cut  tangent  to  the  annual  rings.  Hard-pine  boards 
of  the  latter  kind  are  very  liable  to  splinter,  like  spruce  cut  in  a  simi- 
lar way,  and  must  be  rejected.  Hard-pine  boards  containing  large 
streaks  of  dark  turpentine  are  also  unfit  for  floors,  the  turpentine 
soon  crumbling  away. 

There  are  one  or  two  points  about  the  hard-wood  finish  other 
than  the  floors,  which  may  be  noted.  Whitewood,  or  poplar,  is  not 
usually  ranked  among  the  hard  woods,  although  it  is  little  inferior  in 
this  respect  to  black  walnut  or  butternut.  It  has  the  advantage  over 
them  of  being  clear,  dry,  and  very  uniform  in  texture.  The  annual 
rings  are  almost  imperceptible,  and  the  wood  is  little  subject  to  any 
warping  or  checking.  For  large,  solid  piazza  posts  and  other 
heavy  out-door  work,  it  is  superior  to  any  other  material,  and  inside 
finish  made  of  it  is  usually  durable  and  satisfactory.  It  has  the  peculiar 
property  of  swelling  considerably  in  damp  weather,  even  when  per- 
fectly seasoned,  to  retreat  again  to  its  original  dimensions  under  the 
influence  of  furnace-heated  air ;  so  that  doors  made  of  it  should  not 
be  too  tightly  fitted.  In  selecting  the  pieces  care  should  be  taken  to 
exclude  those  streaked  with  white  sap.  The  rest  of  the  wood  dark- 
ens very  much  after  finishing,  while  the  sappy  streaks  remain  white, 
and  soon,  ly  contrast,  appear  as  disfigurements.  Black  sap,  which 
also  occurs,  is  not  generally  looked  upon  as  objectionable,  but  it  forms 
too  strong  a  figure  to  be  admitted  in  delicately-moulded  work. 

Hard-wood  doors,  except  those  of  white  wood,  are  usually  veneered 
upon  a  core  of  well-seasoned  pine,  to  prevent  warping,  and  it  is 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


195 


accessary  to  examine  them  upon  delivery,  to  see  that  the  veneen 

are  of  the  proper  thickness.      Those  which  cover  the 

panels  may  be  £  inch ;  over  the  framing  they  should        Doors?" 

be  specified  ^  inch,  although  the  final  planing  which 

such  doors  undergo  generally  reduces  this  thickness  somewhat. 

There  are  innumerable  points  about  the  finishing  of  a  dwellirg- 
house  which,  though  trifling  in  themselves,  count  for  a  great  deal  :n 
the  impression  which  the  completed  structure  will  pro- 
duce upon  the  owner  and  his  friends,  and  the  archi-  inspections 
tect  or  superintendent  will  do  well  to  go  thoroughly 
and  repeatedly  over  the  building  during  the  finishing,  and  make 
sure  that  every  visible  detail  is  satisfactory  before  the  contractor 
leaves  it. 

First  among  the  points  to  be  examined  is  the  hanging  of  the  win- 
dows.    The  sashes  vary  considerably  in  weight,  and 
unless  each  one  is  accurately  balanced,  which  takes 
both   time   and  care,  the  sash  will  not  stay  in  place. 
The  sash-fasts  may  also  be  badly  set,  so  that  they  will  not  lock,  and 

nothing  short  of  an  actual  trial  of  each  sash  of  every 

.         Sash-Fasts. 
window  will  serve  to  make  sure  that  all  are  as  they 

should  be.  Door  locks  and  knobs  are  also  very  carelessly  applied, 
and  there  are  few  houses  where  all  of  them  work  perfectly.  The 
striking-plate,  particularly,  is  apt  to  be  set  too  high,  or  too  low,  or 
too  far  into  the  rebate,  so  that  either  the  latch  or  the  bolt  will  not 
enter  the  mortise  intended  for 
it ;  while  the  *'  roses,"  or  round 
plates,  screwed  upon  the  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  door,  in  which  the  stems  of 
the  knobs  move,  are  rarely  placed  exactly  op- 
posite each  other,  so  that  the  spindle,  instead 
of  being  perpendicular  to  the  door,  is  forced 
into  an  oblique  direction,  causing  the  knobs 
to  bind  and  stick  in  turning  (Fig.  172).  The 
knobs,  again,  are  generally  put  on  without  in- 


If 


Fig.  172. 


Fur    t    a 


serting  the  proper  number  of  the  thin  washers  which  slip  over  the 
spindle  for  the  purpose  of  filling  out  the  space  between  the  lock  and 
the  knobs  on  each  side,  and  the  latter  are  left  loose  in  consequence, 
si  i  ding  in  and  out  with  the  touch  of  the  hand  in  an  annoying  way. 


JU  BUIL.D1XU   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

Man}' architects  call  in  their  specifications  for  "swivel  spindles,' 

with  which  the  turning  of  the  knob  on  one  side  of  the  door  does 

not   affect  that    on  the  other  side;    but   except   for 

SpimlJes.      tnose  front   doors   which^.have  an   arrangement   for 

locking   the   outside    knob   separately,  the  swivel  is 

hardly  necessary. 

Chair-rails,  picture-mouldings,  wooden  cornices,  and  other  finish 
of  the  same  kind  will  often  be  applied  with  the  utmost  carelessness. 

Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  see  such  horizon- 
Ohair-Rails,  etc.  .    , 

tal  mouldings  varying  very  much  from  their  correct 

position,  the  workman  having  put  them  on  by  what  he  would  have 
called  "his  eye,"  instead  of  measuring  at  short  intervals  the  proper 
distance  from  the  floor  or  ceiling. 

The  young  architect  or  superintendent  should   train   himself  to 

quick  observation   of  all  these  points.     Any  defects 

Defects? *"     are  SU1  e  ^°  ^e  (liscovereti  sooner  or  later  by  the  owner, 

to  the  discredit  of  the  one  whose  business  it  was  to 

look  out  for  and  correct  them  at  the  proper  season. 

The  character  of  the  hardware  about  a  building  is  also  of  much 
importance.     The  variety  of  patterns  and  qualities  of  locks,  knobs, 

pulls,  bolts,  hooks,  hinges,  sash-fasts,  and  so  on,  is  so 
Hardware.     '  ,    .      ... 

great  that  nothing  but  a  thorough  familiarity  with  the 

different  kinds,  and  a  minutely  detailed  specification,  will  protect 
the  architect  or  superintendent  from  being  occasionally  compelled  to 
accept  fittings  which  he  does  not  like,  but  which  the  indefinite  char- 
acter of  the  specification  precludes  him  from  rejecting  as  not  in 
accordance  with  the  contract. 

The  locks  form  a  very  important  part  of  a  building.     Those  used 
in  good  houses  are  generally  mortise  locks,  inserted  into  a  mortise 

cut  in  the  edge  of  the  door.     The  centre  of  the  knob 

should  be  exactly  three  feet  above  the  finished  Hour, 
and  the  mortise  for  the  lock,  in  inside  doors,  will  extend  one  inch 
above  and  three  inches  below  this  point.  For  outside  doors,  th<3 

mortise    is    generally  six    inches   high  —  two  inches 
Proper    os  -  a^ove  an(j  four  inches  below  the  centre  of  the  knob, 
tion  of  Knobs;  .       .  .          .        ,  ,  ...          ,       ,,   , 

In  designing  the  doors,  the  panelling  should  be  so 

laid  out  that  the  lock-mortise  will  come  beside  a  panel,  and  not  oppo- 
site a  rail  of  the  framing ;  as,  in  the  latter  case,  the  mortise  will  cut 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  197 

off  the  tenon  of  the  rail,  weakening  the  door  very  badly.      For 
want  of  attention  to  this  point,  young  architects  of- 
ten find  that  doors,  in  whose  elegantly-proportioned  ^fr^>or  pTnela. 
panels  they  take  the  greatest  pride,  have  to  be  fitted 
with  handles  set  either  at  an  immoderate  height  from  the  floor,  or 
ridiculously  low,  to  avoid  making  them  altogether  unserviceable. 
This  is  particularly  likely  to  be  the  case  in  copying 
doors  of  the  last  century,  either  out  of  books  or  from         °  ° 
actual  examples.     These  show  invariably  at  the  level 
of  the  knob  a  wide  rail  instead  of  a  panel,  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  mortise  locks  were  not  in  use  then,  their  place  being  sup- 
plied by  rim  locks,  in  which  the  working  parts  were  enclosed  in  an 
iron  or  brass  box,  screwed  to  the  outside  of  the  door,  a  small  hole 
only  being  bored  through  the  door  for  the  spindle  of  the  knobs.     Of 
course,  the  tenon  not  being  in  this  case  interfered  with,  there  was 
no  reason  why  the  lock  should  not  be  screwed  on  next  the  rail,  and 
as  many  of  the  ancient  rim  locks,  or  the  latches  which  were  substi- 
tuted for  them  in  inferior  rooms,  were  longer  than  the  width  of  the 
"  style  "  at  the  edge  of  the  door,  it  was  an  advantage  to  place  it 
where  it  could  extend  back  upon  the  framing.     Occasionally,  a  mod- 
ern version  of  the  Colonial  doors  is  seen  with  a  mortise  lock  set  op- 
posite a  very  wide  lock-rail ;  but  this  must  be  done  by  framing  the 
latter  with  two  tenons,  far  enough  apart  to  give  room  for  the  mortise 
between  them,  —  an  arrangement  not  to  be  recommended. 

For  closet  doors,  a  mortise  latch  is  sometimes  used,  with  either 
one  or  two  knobs,  but  no  lock  or  key.     The  case  for  this  is  only 
about  2^  inches  high,  but  such  furnishings  are  only 
suitable  for  inferior  houses,  a  closet  which  cannot  be      °*®t"   oor 
locked  being  as  inconvenient  as  a  door  with  a  knob  on 
only  one  side  is  mean  in  appearance.     The  hand-made  locks  are  far 
superior  to  those  made  by  machinery,  and  also  much  more  costly ; 
but  some  of  the  machine-made  kinds  serve  well  enough  for  ordinary 
purposes,     Any  good  contractor  or  hardware  dealer  can  furnish  the 
names  of  the  most  reliable  manufacturers,  and  the  safest  course  for 
the  young  architect  is  to  require  a  first-class  make  by  name  in  his 
specifications.     The  manufacturers'  catalogues  will  furnish  him  with 
all  necessary  information  as  to  styles,  and  he  should  call  for  exactly 
what  he  wants  so  clearly  that  there  may  be  no  mistake  as  to  hii 


198  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

intention,  finally  assuring  himself  by  inspection  that  the  contract  has 
been  carried  out. 

Re-versible  locks  should  be  chosen,  unless  the  architect  is  willing 
to  see  a  door  here  and  there  hurig  on  the  wrimg  side  to  accommodate 
some  carpenter  who  has  selected  his  locks  at  random 
and  finds  llimself  sli°rt  <>f  the  proper  kind ;  and  the 
character  of  the  keys  should  be  specified,  or  he  may 
find  a  set  of  locks  of  tolerably  good   appearance  accompanied  by 
cast-iron  keys,  tinned  or  galvanized.     JBor  the  inside 
doors  of  ordinary  houses  a  mortise  lock  of  P.  &  F. 
Corbin's  make,  for  instance,  with  brass  face  and  striking-plate,  brass 
bolts  and  German  silver  or  plated  keys,  does  well  enough.     For  the 
best  rooms  a  "fancy"  face,  formed  by  grinding  the  brass  in  curling 
forms,  may  be  used ;  or  some  expense  may  be  saved  by  allowing  the 
bolts  to  be  of  iron  instead  of  brass.     A  cheaper  lock  still  has  an 
iron  face,  lacquered  to  imitate  brass,  but  there  is  no  real  economy  in 
using  it. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  locks  for  interior  doors  are 
usually  of  the  simplest,  construction,  the  wards  of  the  key  merely 
fitting  stationary  projections  inside  the  box,  which  give  no  security 
against  opening  by  a  skeleton  key  or  a  piece  of  stout  wire  ;  but  it  is 
not  required  in  such  cases  to  provide  against  the  operations  of  pro- 
fessional burglars.  These  locks  are  commonly  used  in  sets  of  twelve, 
the  twelve  keys  differing  from  each  other,  but  the  complete  sets  being 
exactly  alike,  so  that  in  a  house  with  twenty-four  doors  there  will  be 
two  keys  of  each  pattern,  which  may,  however,  be  distinguished  by 
a  difference  in  the  finish,  one  set  being  bronzed  and  the  other  plated, 
for  instance.  For  outside  doors,  which  must  occasionally  be  left 
without  the  security  of  bolts,  "  lever "  or  "  tumbler "  locks  are 
needed,  in  which  the  interior  construction  is  far  more  complex,  and 

the   security,   as   well   as   the   cost,   correspondingly 
Lever  Locks.  *JJ  .    .  '  °/ 

greater.     Many   varieties   of  these  locks   are   made, 

with  and  without  night-latches,  and  inspection  will  furnish  the  best 
guide  as  to  the  arrangement  desired.  Some  front-door  locks  are  so 
arranged  that  the  outside  knob  is  permanently  fixed,  but  the  better 
ones  are  furnished  with  a  movement  by  which  it  can  be  held  firm,  or 
released  if  it  is  desired  to  allow  the  door  to  be  opened  directly  from 
the  outside,  without  a  key.  Locks  of  either  kind,  of  the  common 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE.  199 

construction,  are  somewhat  liable  to  have  the  latch  become  slow  in 
working,  so  that  a  sharp  bang  is  necessary  to  close  the  door.     Age 
increases  this  fault,  which  is  only  partially  cured  by  oiling,  and  a 
more  satisfactory  service  can  be  had  from  the  patent 
locks,  in  which  the  latch  is  in  two  or  three  parts,  one,      Latches. 
which  projects  in  front,  turning  on  a  pivot  as  it  is 
drawn  against  the  striking  plate,  and  by  the  same  motion  drawing 
back  the  others,  so  that  when  the  whole  reaches  its  place,  it  slips  out 
into  its  mortise  without  any  friction  of  importance.     Robinson's  pat- 
ent is  the  lock  of  this  kind  most  used,  but  similar  ones  are  perhaps 
made  by  other  parties. 

Care  should  be  taken,  if  locks  and  knobs  are  procured  from  dif- 
ferent makers,  as  will  generally  be  the  case,  to  have  the  hole  for  the 
spindle  correspond  with  the  actual  size.  Most  locks 
ran  be  had  fitted  to  either  f  or  £  inch  spindles ;  and 
although  £-inch  is  the  size  commonly  used,  there  are  many  advan- 
tages in  having  the  knobs  mounted  on  f  spindles,  with  or  without 
swivels.  What  shall  be  the  material  of  the  knobs  must  depend  upon 
circumstances.  Brass,  bronze,  cast-iron,  hard  rubber,  glass,  porce- 
lain, celluloid,  wood,  and  various  compositions  of  saw- 
dust  and  glue,  dried  blood,  glazed  earthenware  and 
other  substances  are  used.  Among  these,  dark  bronze  metal  of  good 
quality  is  the  most  satisfactory.  The  light  bronze,  even  when  good, 
is  apt  to  tarnish  in  rooms  not  much  used,  and  the  soft,  inferior 
bronze  wears  to  a  dirty  yellow  color  which  is  very  unpleasant. 
Moreover,  there  is  in  bronze  hardware  a  much  greater  variety  of 
patterns  than  in  any  other  kind,  and  knobs,  hinges,  bolts,  chain- 
bolts,  sliding-door  pulls,  sash-fasts  and  other  furnishings  can  be  so 
selected  as  to  match  in  color  and  general  appearance  throughout  the 
building.  There  is  however  much  difference  in  the  execution  and 
finish  of  the  castings,  and  it  is  unsafe  to  trust  to  the  drawings  in  the 
catalogues  of  unknown  makers  without  seeing  samples  of  the  work. 

Polished  brass  furniture,  where  it  is  fashionable,  is  very  costly, 
and  requires  continual  attention  to  keep  it  bright.  Silver-plated 
brass  knobs  soon  lose  their  coating,  and  are  becoming  obsolete. 
Cast-iron  is  used  for  door-knobs  only  in  a  miserable  imitation  of 
bronze  or  brass.  Hard  rubber  and  celluloid  make  durable  and 
pretty  furniture  for  in-doors,  but  do  not  bear  weathering  well 


200  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

Glass  is  a  good  material,  and  can  be  had  in  great  variety  :  the  old- 
fashioned  cut  octagonal  knobs  are  the  handsomest,  but  those  pressed 
in  various  forms  are  serviceable.  The  blown-glass  knobs,  silvered 
inside,  are  fragile  unless  of  very  good  raake.  Porcelain  and  the 
vitrified  materials  known  as  "  mineral  "  and  "  lava  "  with  "  hema- 
cite"  and  some  similar  substances,  are  used  for  inferior  rooms. 
Knobs  of.  wood  or  its  imitations  are  somewhat  liable  to  become 
sticky  from  the  softening  of  the  varnish  upon  them.  Whatever  the 
UP  kind  used,  the  specification  should  not  omit  to  men- 

tion a  bell-pull  for  the  front  door  to  match  the  design 
of  the  other  furniture;  and  should  keep  in  mind  also  the  sunk  pulls 
for  sliding  doors,  if  there  are  any  such. 

Bolts  are  necessary  for  all  doors  which  need  to  be  rendered  toler- 
ably secure  against  intrusion,  and  afford  more  protection  than  any 
lock.     The  neatest  and  most  convenient  are  the  Ives 
patent  mortise  bolts,  which  are  set  into  a  small  auger- 
hole  bored  in  the  edge  of  the  door,  and  show  only  a  small  key  out- 
side.    Outside   doors   are   frequently   guarded   by  a 
Chain-Bolts.     .    .    ,    ,  ..  J    '  ,  J , 

chain-bolt,  consisting  of  a  strong  ornamental  cham, 

attached  to  the  frame,  or  one  leaf  of  a  double  door,  which  can  be 
hooked  into  a  slotted  plate  on  the  movable  part  of  the  door,  and  will 
allow  the  door  to  be  unlocked  and  opened  three  or  four  inches,  for 
conversation  with  a  person  outside,  but  prevents  it  from  opening 
further  until  unhooked.  This  effectually  resists  the  attempts  of 
tramps  to  force  their  way  past  a  servant  into  the  house  as  soon  aa 
the  door  is  unlocked,  but  as  it  can  easily  be  dislodged  from  the  out- 
side by  a  wire,  it  should  be  used  in  addition  to,  and  not  as  a  substi- 
tute for,  the  ordinary  bolt. 

Sash-fasts  of  the  ordinary  kind  are  the  least  effectual  of  all  do- 
mestic defences  against  the  operations  of  burglars.  By  introducing 
the  blade  of  a  knife  between  the  upper  and  lower 
sashes  from  the  outside  the  lever  can  be  easily  pushed 
back  and  the  window  opened,  and  this  is  in  fact  the  common  mode 
of  entrance  for  thieves.  Of  late  years  the  necessity  for  preventing 
the  movement  of  the  lever  from  the  outside  has  become  so  obvious 
that  several  devices,  more  or  less  perfect,  are  now  in  use  for  the 
purpose.  The  earliest  form,  still  much  used,  has  a  spring  catch  with 
a  thumb-piece  attached  to  the  inner  plate,  which,  as  the  lever  is 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  20* 

swung  around,  is  first  pushed  back  and  then  springs  out,  holding  it 
in  place  until  it  is  again  pushed  back  by  the  thumb.     This  is  con- 
venient, and  reasonably  secure,  but  after  some  years'  wear  the  catch 
becomes  rounded  by  friction,  and  the  lever  may  sometimes  be  forced 
back  over  it  from  the  outside  by  a  strong  pressure.     An  improve- 
ment on  this  is  a  self-locking  sash-fast  introduced  by    Hopkins  & 
Hopkins  &   Dickinson  of  New  York,  in  which   the    Dickinson's 
lever  itself  is  hollow,  and  contains  a  spiral  spring, 
acting  upon  a  pin  which  moves  within  the  lever  and  has  a  knob- 
shaped  head  projecting  at  the  end.     In  locking  the  window,  as  soon 
as  the  lever  is  turned  to  its  place,  the  interior  pin  springs  into  a  hole 
made  for  it  in  the  pivot,  preventing  any  back  movement  until  the  pin 
is  withdrawn  by  pulling  on  the  knob.     This  sash-fast  is  still  very 
popular,  but  is  closely  followed  by  a  simpler  and  stronger  device,  the 
Morris   sash-lock,  in  which   the   thumb-piece  of  the  Morrls  sash- 
lever  is  movable,  and  on  being   turned   to  its  place         Fast. 
drops  down  into  a  notch  made  to  receive  it  in  the  circumference  of 
the  plate  which  carries  it.     To  open  the  lock  from  the  inside  noth- 
ing is  necessary  but  to  lift  the  thumb-piece  from  its  notch  and  turn 
back  the  lever  by  a  single  motion ;  but  to  open  it  from  the  outside 
is  impossible.     Various  styles  of  all  sash-fasts  are  made,  to  corre- 
spond with  bronze,  silvered,  or  the  cheaper  kind  of  metal  furniture. 
Hinges  form  the  only  other  article  of  importance  in  the  hardware 
dealer's  order.     Solid  bronze  metal,  polished  brass,  ^ 

silver  plate,  "  Boston  finish," —  a  brown  lacquer  over 
iron,  resembling  bronze,  —  black  japanned  iron,  either  plain,  or  with 
silver  or  bronze  tips,  and  plain  iron,  are  at  the  con>B  Finish 

mand  of   the   architect.     If  solid   bronze,   brass,   or 
silver  plate  are  used,  only  the  best  quality,  with  steel  bushings  and 
steel  washers  should  be  used ;  as  the  softer  metal  wears  out  rapidly 
from  the  movement  of  the  door.     Iron,  either  japanned  or  Boston 
finish,  for  hard-wood  doors,  with  tips  either  of  the  same  or  of  solid 
bronze  or  plated,  and  plain  for  doors  intended  to  be  painted,  forms 
on  the  whole  the  best  material  for  ordinary  dwelling-houses.     Most 
houses  are  now  fitted  with  "  loose-joint  "  butts,  which 
allow  the  door,  after  opening,  to  be  lifted  off  and  re-     0<BiJtts!  " 
placed  without  unscrewing  the  hinge.     With  heavy 
doors,  however,  there  is  danger  of  bending  the  projecting  pin  of  the 


202  BUILDING  SUPERIN'TEXDENOE. 

hinge  during  this  operation,  and  it  is  better  to  require  "loose  pin" 
butts,  in  which  the  pin  itself  can  be  drawn  out  from 
^ie  toP  am*  ^ie  ^O0r  removetl  anil  replaced,  with  aa 
much  ease  as  in  the  otfier  case,  and  greater  safety. 
Young  architects  occasionally  forget  to  proportion  the  size  of  the 
butts  to  the  circumstances  of  their  door-frames  and  architraves,  and 
find,  too  late,  that  the  doors  of  their  best  rooms  can- 

81  re  ^'ired**3  not  ^e  swunS  back  to  ^ie  wa^*  Where  the  openings 
are  finished  with  unusually  thick  mouldings,  Gothic 
beads,  or  pilasters,  the  proper  way  is  to  make  a  horizontal  section 
of  the  door,  with  its  frame  and  finish,  including  bases  or  plinth 
blocks,  and  capitals,  if  there  are  any ;  then  add  the  extreme  projec- 
tion of  the  trim  from  the  plane  of  the  door,  to  twice  the  thickness  of 
the  door,  and  deduct  half  an  inch  from  the  sum ;  the  remainder  will 
be  the  minimum  width  of  butt  which  will  hang  the  door  securely 
and  throw  it  clear  of  the  mouldings.  If  the  result  does  not  corre- 
spond with  a  regular  size  of  hinge,  the  nearest  size  larger  should  be 
specified.  Butts  are  made  of  several  widths  to  the  same  height,  as 
4"  x  4",  4"  x  4£",  4"  x  5",  4"  x  6",  and  so  on  ;  the  dimensions  being 
those  of  the  hinge  when  opened  flat. 

For  the  remaining  small  items,  as  coat-hooks,  drawer-pulls,  and  the 
like,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  describe  clearly  in  the  specification 

what  is  wanted.     In  certain  cases  drawer-pulls  must 
Small  Items.  ....  «.   -         ^  •  i   • 

be  of  fancy  styles,  but  for  closets  japanned  iron  is 

much  the  best  material,  and  the  simpler  and  smoother  the  pattern 
the  better.  Architects  and  builders  often  go  to  a  small  unnecessary 
expense  in  putting  fancy  cast-bronze  or  Boston  finished  pulls  on 
their  cases  of  drawers,  which  serve  only  to  bruise  and  excoriate 
the  fingers  of  those  who  handle  them ;  and  fit  up  rows  of  roughly- 
finished  bronze  metal  hooks,  whose  edges  quickly  cut  the  material 
of  clothes  suspended  from  them,  while  the  artistic  knobs  and  curves 
with  which  they  are  adorned  always  prevent  them  from  being  as  ser- 
viceable as  the  plain,  strong  triple  hook  of  japanned  cast-iron. 

It  is  important  that  the  young  architect  should  inform  himself  as 
to  the  character  and  comparative  cost  of  the  -various  kinds  of  me- 
tallic house-furnishings,  and  describe  distinctly  what 
Fixing  Prices.  ,  .„       .  .  ,  *. 

he  requires  in  the  specification,  without  resorting  to 

the  slovenly  practice  of  specifying  that  the  different  articles  shall 


BUILDING  SUPEKINTEM^EMOE.  203 

cost  a  certain  sura  per  dozen,  or  per  set,  or  per  gross.  The  actual 
expense  of  such  goods  to  the  contractor  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  the  cost  as  set  down  in  the  price-lists,  and  to  specify  articles  of 
a  given  price,  instead  of  a  given  kind,  is  usually  to  oblige  the  own^.r 
to  pay  a  large  profit  on  goods  which  he  might  have  obtained  for  the 
net  value  if  they  had  been  distinctly  described. 

If  the  architect  has  been  wise  enough  to  demand  specific  articles 
of  hardware  from  manufacturers  of  good  reputation,  the  duty  of  the 
superintendent  will  require  little  more  of  him  than 
to  see  that  the  order  is  correctly  filled,  and  that 
the  fittings  are  properly  put  on.  If,  however,  the 
specification  is  one  of  the  kind  that  vaguely  stipulates  that  such 
materials  shall  be  "  good,"  or  "  neat,"  or  '•  worth  two  dollars  per 
dozen,"  he  must  prepare  himself  for  a  rigid  inspection  of  the  goods 
furnished  in  accordance  with  it.  The  bronze  hardware  of  all  kinds 
may  prove  to  be  of  soft  yellow  metal,  with  a  thin  bronze  finish  over 
it,  or  even  of  iron  skilfully  lacquered  or  bronzed ;  the  brass  faces  of 
locks  and  bolts  may  be  fictitious,  consisting  of  iron,  varnished  with 
yellow  lacquer,  or  brass-plated ;  the  silvered-glass  knobs  may  be  of 
a  substance  so  thin,  or  so  carelessly  blown,  as  to  crush  in  an  incau- 
tious hand,  inflicting  frightful  wounds ;  or  any  kind  may  be  so  feebly 
secured  to  the  metal  shank  as  to  come  off  altogether  upon  occasion; 
or  the  hinges  may  be  destitute  of  washers,  and  will  soon  creak  pain- 
fully. The  cases  of  cheap  mortise  locks  are  often  made,  to  economize 
material,  so  short  as  to  bring  the  knob  within  an  inch  of  the  edge 
of  the  door,  so  that  the  hand  is  scraped  against  the  rebate  of  the 
frame  whenever  the  door  is  shut ;  or  sometimes  the  width  as  well  as 
the  length  of  the  case  is  reduced,  and  the  knuckles  come  into  painful 
contact  with  the  key  on  turning  the  knob ;  while  occasionally  a  lock 
is  seen  which  allows  the  door  to  be  opened  by  turning  the  knob  one 
way  only,  instead  of  both  ways.  The  screws  furnished  for  putting 
on  cheap  hardware  are  also  generally  too  small,  so  that  the  fixtures 
are  insecurely  fastened ;  and  the  worst  workmen  will  increase  this 
fault  by  their  fashion  of  applying  them,  which  consists  in  driving 
the  screw  nearly  home  with  a  heavy  blow  of  the  hammer,  finishing 
with  a  turn  or  two  of  the  screw-driver.  Such  men  also  generally 
show  an  exasperating  indifference  to  the  appearance  of  their  own 
or  other's  work,  putting  on  bronze  metal  or  japanned  fittings  with 


204  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

plain  iron  screws,  instead  of  blued  iron  or  bronze,  and  using  them  of 
different  sizes,  or  several  sizes  too  large,  if  necessary  to  save  them- 
selves the  trouble  of  going  after  suitable  ones;  screwing  hinges, 
bolts,  or  plates  at  random  on  veneeredr'tloors,  and  if  they  fail  to  fit, 
removing  them  and  screwing  them  on  again  somewhere  else,  leaving 
two  or  three  sets  of  screw-holes  yawning  in  the  polished  surface  of 
the  wood,  or  in  a  hundred  other  stupid  and  blundering  ways  defac- 
ing the  building  which  they  help,  after  their  fashion,  to  complete. 
Continual  vigilance  is  needed  to  discover  and  correct  such  faults, 
and  the  superintendent  of  a  house  which  on  delivery  to  its  owner 
proves  to  have  all  its  hardware  perfect,  well  put  on,  and  in  good 
working  order,  has  at  least  some  qualities  which  particularly  fit  him 
for  his  profession. 

While  the  joiners'  work  is  going  on  inside  the  house,  the  opera- 
tions of  drainage,   grading   and   sodding   outside   should   be   com- 
pleted, so  that  the  dust  incident  to  them  may  be  laid 

before  the  final  Pointing. 

Unless,  as  will  rarely  be  the  case  in  the  country, 
drainage  by  regular  sewers  is  provided,  the  first  of  the  outside  oper- 
ations should  be  the  selection  of  a  site  for,  and  the  construction  of,  a 

cesspool  of  some  kind.     Usually  the  position  of  this  is 

marked  approximately  on  the  plans,  or  indicated  in 
the  specification,  which  is  necessary  in  order  to  lay  out  the  plumb- 
ing intelligently;  but  circumstances  will  often  modify  greatly  the 
character  of  the  construction  as  executed.  For  most  houses,  the 
ancient  leaching  cesspool  or  "dry  well"  is  still  adopted,  as  the 
cheapest  means  for  disposing  of  house-wastes,  but  the  architect 
should  examine  all  the  conditions  with  great  care  before  lending  his 
authority  to  this  expedient.  If  the  house  is  supplied  with  water 
from  a  town  or  city  service,  or  from  springs  higher  than  the  build- 
ing and  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  if  the  lot  on  which  it  stands 
is  so  large  that  the  inevitable  poisoning  of  the  ground  by  the  soak- 
age  of  putrefying  filth  will  not  affect  its  inmates  or  their  neighbors, 

the  leaching  cesspool  may  be  regarded,  in  view  of  the 
tiorTof  "wens.  greater  cost  an(l  trouble  of  other  devices,  as  an  evil  to 

be  tolerated  so  long  as  the  favorable  circumstances  con- 
tinue. If,  however,  water  is  to  be  drawn  for  use,  either  in  the  house 
or  stable  of  the  proprietor  or  his  neighbors,  from  any  well  within 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  205 

three  hundred  feet  of  the  proposed  cesspool,  and  on  the  same  or  a 
lower  level,  the  architect  should  refuse  his  sanction  to  any  plan  what- 
ever for  discharging  sewage  into  the  subsoil. 

In  rocky  districts,  and  in  places  where  deep  wells  are  necessary, 
a  much  greater  distance  should  intervene  between  them  and  any 
porous  cesspools. 

It  is  positively  proved  that  the  typhoid  poison  contained  in  refuse 
thrown  upon  the  ground  on  a  rocky  hillside,  and  washed  by  the 
rain  into  some  hidden  seam  or  depression  in  the  ledge  beneath  the 
surface,  has  been  carried  down  with  its  qualities  unchanged,  to  in 
feet  with  very  fatal  effect  a  spring,  apparently  of  the  purest  water, 
a  mile  beyond ;  and  it  may  generally  be  assumed  that  with  such  a 
subsoil  the  crevices  through  which  the  liquid  escapes  from  a  leaching 
cesspool  are,  if  not  the  same,  at  least  in  communication  more  or  less 
direct  with  the  seams  which,  ramifying  in  all  directions,  serve  to  con- 
vey water  to  the  wells  of  the  neighborhood.  If,  again,  a  well  in  a 
porous,  gravelly  soil  is  very  deep,  the  extent  of  the  area  from  which 
it  draws  its  supply  is  enormously  increased.  The  pumping  out  of 
the  excavation  in  gravelly  and  clayey  soil  for  a  dry-dock  near  Lon- 
don drained  wells  at  a  distance  of  much  more  than  a  mile.  After 
the  pumping  was  discontinued,  the  wells  gradually  filled  to  their  nor- 
mal level,  showing  that  the  water  was  drawn  from  them  to  the  exca- 
vation during  the  pumping,  and  that  if  they  had  contained  foul 
liquids  instead  of  clear  water,  and  the  excavation  had  been  a  well 
instead  of  a  dry-dock  basin,  the  sewage  would,  even  from  that  dis- 
tance, have  ultimately  reached  it. 

Supposing  that  all  danger  of  contamination  to  the  drinking  water 
of  the  house  is  averted,  by  the  introduction  of  water  either  from  a 
public  service,  or  from  a  spring  or  well  whose  bottom 
is  considerably  higher  than  the  proposed  cesspool ;  this 
may  be  excavated  of  a  circular  form,  in  diameter  from 
eight  to  twelve  feet,  and  of  the  depth  requisite  to  reach  an  absorbent 
stratum,  the  sides  lined  with  a  dry  wall  of  stone  or  brick,  and  the 
top  drawn  over  in  the  form  of  a  rude  dome,  leaving  a  man-hole  about 
twenty  inches  in  diameter  at  the  top,  which  should  be  covered  with 
a  flat  stone.  Wooden  covers  soon  rot,  forming  a  dangerous  trap. 
The  usual  way  is  to  fix  the  height  of  the  masonry  so  that  the  top  of 
the  cover  shall  come  about  four  inches  beneath  the  sod,  which  may  be 


206  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

either  carried  over  it,  concealing  it  entirely,  or  turned  down  neatly 
around  the  edges  of  the  stone. 

In  sandy  or  gravelly  soils  such  a  cesspool  will  dispose  of  the  waste 
liquids  of  a  house  for  a  long  time,  but  fn  the  course  of  years  the 
earth  around  it  becomes  coated  with  the  fatty  deposit  from  the  sew- 
age, and  a  new  cesspool  must  be  dug.  Where  the  sand  or  gravel  is 
very  fine,  or  mixed  with  clay,  the  stoppage  of  its  pores  takes  place 
quickly,  and  as  years  pass  by  a  continually  increasing  chain  of  cess- 
pools, each  connected  with  the  previous  one  by  an  overflow-pipe, 
serves  to  saturate  the  ground  around  the  house  with  putrefaction, 
and  the  air  with  malaria.  In  very  clayey  soils  no  leaching  whatever 
takes  place,  and  the  cesspool  fills  up  like  a  tight  cistern,  a  few  days' 
use,  with  one  of  ordinary  size,  causing  it  to  overflow.  Such  ground 
often,  however,  contains  strata  of  porous  gravel  or  sand,  and  if  the 
excavation  can  be  carried  to  one  of  these  seams,  the  cesspool  may 
answer  well  enough ;  but  if  not,  and  no  more  favorable  spot  can  be 
found,  a  different  mode  of  disposal  must  be  adopted. 

The  simplest,  though  not  the  least  troublesome,  way  of  surmount- 
ing the  difficulty  is  to  drill  a  hole  through  the  cover  of  the  cesspool, 
and  set  over  it  an  ordinary  pump,  by  which  the  liquid 

Tight         may  be  pumped  out  at  intervals  of  days  or  weeks,  ac- 
Cesspool.  *  .    .  ',      ' 

cording  to  the  capacity  of  the  reservoir,  and  spread 

upon  the  grass,  or  utilized  in  the  garden.  A  small  tank  on  wheels, 
which  can  be  filled  at  the  pump  and  conveyed  quickly  to  the  point 
where  the  fertilizing  fluid  is  to  be  applied,  is  much  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  operation  is  not  offensive,  or  only  very  slightly  so,  since 
the  sewage  does  not  remain  in  the  cess^ol  long  enough  for  putrefac- 
tion to  take  place,  and  the  results  are  excellent,  but  the  necessary 
attention  cannot  always  be  given  to  it,  and  a  neglect  which  might 
cause  the  backing  up  of  the  sewage  in  the  drains,  to  overflow  into 
the  cellar  of  the  house,  would  be  a  serious  matter.  To  avoid  this,  it 
is  customary  to  provide  an  overflow,  through  which  the  liquid  can 
upon  occasion  escape  over  the  surface  of  the  ground,  where  although 
a  continued  flow  would  be  offensive,  its  presence  is  less  objectionable 
than  in  the  house. 

A  more  automatic  arrangement,  which  has  been  gaining  rapidly 
in  favor  of  late  years,  consists  in  substituting  for  the  surface  overflow, 
to  be.  used  only  in  case  of  temporary  need,  a  permanent  outlet,  formed 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


207 


by  a  series  of  open-jointed  pipes,  laid  a  few  inches  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  where  the  liquid  exuding  from  be- 
tween them  will  be  absorbed,  partly  by  the  porous  loam 
which  always  forms  the  upper  stratum,  and  partly  by 
the  roots  of  the  grass  or  other  vegetation  growing  upon  the  sur- 
face. If  properly  arranged,  this  system  is  very  satisfactory,  not  only 
disposing  of  the  house-waste  as  completely,  and  with  as  little  atten- 
tion, as  the  ordinary  leaching  cesspool,  but  accomplishing  this  in 
soils  where  a  leaching  cesspool  could  not  be  made,  and  what  is  of 
even  more  importance,  performing  its  work  for  an  indefinite  period 
without  causing  any  contamination  of  the  ground,  the  actively  oxi- 
dizing property  of  the  air  contained  in  the  pores  of  the  top  soil 
serving  to  destroy  with  certainty  the  last  traces  of  organic  impurity 
in  the  liquid,  which  if  discharged  into  the  ground  a  few  feet  be- 
low, beyond  the  reach  of  atmospheric  changes,  would  retain  its  foul- 
ness for  months,  if  not  for  years. 


173. 


An  efficient  system  of  subsoil  irrigation  must  consist  of  two  parts: 
the  tight  cesspool  or  tank  where  the  waste  matters  from  the  house 
are  retained  until  they  dissolve  into  a  thin,  milky  liquid,  and  the  net- 
work of  pipes  which  receives  the  sewage  from  the  reservoir,  and  dis- 
sipates it  into  the  ground.  The  tight  cesspool  should  be  constructed 
as  shown  in  section  in  Figure  173,  of  hard  brick,  laid  in  cement, 
circular  in  plan,  about  5  feet  in  diameter,  and  5  feet  deep  from 


208 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


the  mouth  of  the  outlet.  The  walls  should  be  8  inches  thick  in  most 
Moils.  The  bottom  may  be  4  inches  thick,  and  the  top  should  be 
covered  with  a  4-inch  dome,  with  a  man-hole  18  or  20  inches  in  diam- 


// 


jS     ^s''  eter,  and  a  flagstone  cover. 

S  '  Whether  the  cover  shall  be 

tight,  or  be  provided  with 
a  vent  hole  and  grating,  depends  upon  the 
arrangement  of  the  drain-pipes.     If  a  separ- 
ate "  foot  ventilation  "  is  provided  for  the 
main  drain  near  the  house,  it  is  best  to  keep 
the  cesspool  closed ;  but  unless  fresh  air  is  supplied 
at  the  foot  of  the  soil-pipe  by  a  special  inlet,  a  cir- 
culation should  be  insured  by  omitting  all  traps  in 
the  drain,  and  providing  a  grated  opening  in  the 
cesspool  cover.    If,  as  should  always  l?e  the  case,  the 
soil-pipe  extends  through  the  roof  of  the  house,  no 
annoyance  will  be  caused  by  this  opening  into  the 
cesspool,  as  the  draught  will  be  inward  at  that  point. 
The  inlet  pipe  forming  the  extremity  of  the  main 
drain  should  enter  the  cesspool  just  above  the  water 
line.     The  outlet  'pipe  should  have  a  quarter-bend 
jemented  in  before  setting  in  place,  as  shown  in  the  figure.     The 
mouth  of  the  bend,  turned  downward,  then  protects  the  outlet  from 


1'  /  /     /      ' 

/ 

i  1  f    /     ' 

/ 

17  '  '  /  / 
11'    '  / 

!//  /  / 

//  '    ' 

f  '   '   / 
f  '  /  /   / 

/ 
/ 

i  /  /  /  / 

'/  /  '  / 
f  i  •/   ' 

/'  /  / 

the 

!'  '  f 

{'  i  f  ~ 

at  t 

\  i  . 

l'  / 

cula 

it 

the 

174. 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE.  209 

the  scum  which  floats  at  the  surface  of  the  liquid,  and  would  soon 
choke  the  irrigation  pipes. 

The  outlet  pipe,  after  leaving  the  cesspool,  should  be  laid  with  a 
very  gentle  but  perfectly  uniform  pitch,  with  branches  as  indicated 
in  Figure  174. 

The  best  mode  is  to  make  it  of  vitrified  pipe,  laid  with  the  "hubs  w 
pointing  downward,  instead  of  upward  in  the  usual  way,  and  having 
a  Y  inserted  between  every  two  lengths  of  straight 
pipe.  All  the  joints  should  be  made  tight  and  smooth 
with  cement,  and  into  the  lateral  branch  of  every  Y 
should  be  cemented  a  piece  of  agricultural  tile  drain.  The  vitrified 
pipe  forming  the  main  carrier  may  be  4  inches  in  diameter,  and  the 
agricultural  tile  should  be  2-inch  ;  the  Y's  forming  the  connection  be- 
ing of  the  kind  called  2  x  4-inch.  Each  lateral  branch  should  then 
be  continued  by  a  line  of  agricultural  tiles  of  the  requisite  length. 
If  the  slope  of  the  lot  permits,  the  outlet  pipe  should  leave  the  cess- 
pool at  least  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  running  how- 
ever in  such  directions  as  to  bring  it,  before  it  begins  to  ramify,  about 
twelve  inches  below  the  sod ;  and  the  same  or  a  less  distance  below 
the  sod  should  be  maintained  throughout  the  system  of  branches. 
All  the  pipes  must  also  be  graded  to  a  uniform  fall  of  not  more  than 
one  inch  in  twenty-five  feet,  and  to  fulfil  these  two  requirements  it 
will  generally  be  necessary  to  lay  all  the  lines  in  curves,  determined 
by  the  irregularities  of  the  surface,  and  following  very  nearly  a  se- 
ries of  contour  lines  of  the  ground. 

The  tiles  forming  the  lateral  branches  should  be  laid  £  inch  apart, 
a  bit  of  paper  put  over  the  joint,  to  prevent  earth  from  sifting  in, 
and  the  trenches  then  filled.  Either  round  or  sole  tile  may  be  used, 
but  sole  tile  are  preferable.  If  round  tiles  are  employed,  they  should 
be  laid  without  collars,  and  pebbles  put  on  each  side  to  keep  them 
from  rolling  out  of  place. 

The  end  of  the  main  line  of  vitrified  pipe  should  not  be  closed, 
but  a  reducer  should  be  inserted,  and  the  line  continued  with  open- 
jointed  tiles,  in  the  same  way  as  the  lateral  branches.  The  princi- 
pal object  to  be  kept  in  view  is  the  avoidance  of  any  check  to  the  con- 
tinuous flow  of  the  sewage  until  it  issues  from  the  interstices  of  the 
drain  tiles,  to  be  absorbed  and  oxidized  in  the  soil.  If  any  such 
check  is  offered  by  the  displacement  of  a  pipe,  a  sudden  dip  in  a 


210  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ine,  or  an  abrupt  change  in  direction,  the  liquid  will  throw  down  at 
that  point  a  copious  black  sediment,  choking  the  pipe  in  a  few  weeks, 
or,  if  the  main  line  is  closed  at  the  end,  filling  it  like  a  pocket,  and 
successively  cutting  off  the  lateral  branches.  With  the  greatest  care 
some  stoppages  will  take  place,  and  it  is  wise  to  provide  enough 
lateral  pipe  to  dispose  of  any  possible  flow,  with  a  large  margin  for 
contingencies.  For  an  ordinary  dwelling-house,  inhabited  by  a 
family  of  five  or  six  persons,  five  hundred  feet  of  lateral  outlet  \  ipe 
is  the  best  rule,  and  the  quantity  must  be  increased  for  a  larger 
household.  The  character  of  the  subsoil,  whether  clayey  or  sandy, 
makes  with  this  system  very  little  difference,  the  exudation  being 
absorbed  almost  wholly  by  the  surface  loam,  which  is  always  porous 
enough  to  take  up  a  certain  quantity  of  liquid. 

On  account,  probably,  of  the  chemical  action  of  the  air  by  which 
vhe  upper  soil  is  permeated,  the  sewage  distributed  through  it  leaves 
no  trace  of  itself.  Unlike  the  earth  around  a  deep  cesspool,  which 
when  uncovered  discloses  a  foul  saturation,  the  soil  surrounding  irri- 
gation pipes  shows  after  years  of  service  no  trace  whatever  of  the 
organic  matter  which  has  passed  through  it,  and  if  the  pipes  are 
carefully  laid,  either  on  hard  ground,  on  strips  of  board,  or  in  the 
earthenware  channel  pieces  made  for  the  purpose,  so  as  to  avoid  de- 
pressions which  may  collect  sediment,  they  will  work  perfectly  for  an 
indefinite  period  in  any  kind  of  soil. 

The  disposition  of  the  surface-water  about  the  house  is  a  matter 
only  second  in  importance  to  that  of  drainage.  The  main  point  to 
be  kept  in  mind  is  that  the  ground  should  everywhere  slope  at  a  very 

sensible  pitch  away  from  the  building,  so  as  to  throw 
Surface  Water.  «          '•   •  „ 

rain-water  far  enough  away  from  the  walls  to  insure 

it«  absorption  by  the  soil,  or  its  harmless  removal  by  surf  ace  channels. 
If  at  any  point  the  ground  should  be  allowed  to  pitch  toward  the 
house,  the  water  of  spring  rains  will  be  directed  against  the  walls,  and 
sinking  through  the  soft  earth  which  fills  the  trenches  outside  of  the 
masonry  will  make  holes  or  "  gullies  "  close  to  the  building.  If  the 
walls  are  well  drained  in  the  manner  previously  described  the  water 
may  pass  away  without  finding  an  entrance  into  the  cellar,  but  the 
stone-work  will  be  soaked,  and  the  loose  soil  carried  down  by  the  tor- 
rent is  liable  to  be  washed  into  the  drain  below,  so  as  to  choke  it  and 
render  it,  useless.  This  point  is  generally  understood  among  cciintry 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  211 

contractors,  but  it  is  likely  to  be  neglected  in  practice  wlien  the  proper 
grading  happens  to  be  inconvenient,  particularly  under  piazzas  and 
porches,  where  deep  holes  are  often  left,  to  collect  the  streams  of 
water  which  soak  through  from  the  outside,  and  direct  them  against 
the  building. 

The  lines  indicating  the  surface  of  the  soil  as  it  is  intended  to  be 
when  the  work  is  done  should  be  marked  upon  the  underpinning, 
bearing  in  mind  that  where  the  ground  is  to  be  grassed  over  two 
lines  will  be  needed,  one  showing  the  grade  of  the  gravel  or  ordinary 
earth,  and  the  other  that  of  the  loam  which  must  be  placed  above  it 
to  support  the  proposed  vegetation.  Where  loam  enough  is  at  hand 
it  should  be  spread  two  feet  deep.  This  will  afford  a  strong,  thick 
growth  of  grass  from  seed  in  a  single  season.  In  ordinary  cases, 
however,  it  is  necessary  to  be  contented  with  a  foot  or  so :  less  than 
this  cannot  be  depended  upon  to  produce  or  sustain  a  uniform  sod. 
With  the  usual  contracts,  where  the  subsoil  is  sandy  or  gravelly,  the 
spreading  of  the  excavated  material  at  a  proper  grade  around  the 
walls,  placing  the  loam  on  top,  with  the  formation  of  a  gravelled 
pathway  to  the  doors  out  of  the  subsoil  material,  will  constitute  all 
the  work  to  be  expected  of  the  contractor;  and  it  will  remain  for 
the  owner  or  his  gardener  to  smooth  the  surface  of  the  loam  with  a 
rake,  lay  a  line  of  sods  at  the  edges  of  the  paths,  and  sow  the  rest 
evenly  with  "  lawn  seed,"  and  then  drag  a  bunch  of  twigs  or  a  tree- 
branch  lightly  over  it,  and  leave  the  rest  to  nature.  Where  a  bank 
or  terrace  forms  part  of  the  plan  it  should  be  sodded  all  over;  other- 
wise it  will  need  to  be  repaired  after  every  heavy  rain.  Sods  should 
be  laid  in  abed  well  soaked  with  water  and  kept  moist  for  some  days. 
.It  will  often  be  found  difficult  on  sloping  ground  to  keep  paths  and 
drive-ways  from  washing  away  in  severe  storms,  and  even  edging  them 
with  paved  gutters  does  not  always  keep  their  surface  in  place. 
Such  effects  are  usually  due  much  more  to  the  working  in  of  water  at 
(he  sides  of  the  path,  under  the  surface,  than  to  the  direct  action  of 
the  rain,  which  would  have  little  power  to  disturb  the  gravel  unlesa 
previously  loosened  by  the  lateral  infiltration  of  water;  and  the  best 
remedy  is  to  intercept  such  infiltrations  from  the  sides,  and  at  the 
same  time  drain  the  subsoil  of  the  path,  by  means  of  trenches  filled 
with  stones  on  each  side.  The  trenches  are  best  made  narrow,  but 
deep  :  sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  of  breadth  by  two  feet  of  depth. 


212  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

Where  pebbles  of  suitable  size  are  plenty  a  narrow  path  may  be 
completely  filled  in  with  stone,  to  within  six  inches  of  the  surface, 
which  gives  good  results  at  considerable  expense.  Driveways  on 
very  costly  estates  are  occasionally  built  wfth  a  layer  of  broken  stone 
one  or  two  feet  deep ;  or  sometimes  a  single  "  French  drain  "  is  run 
through  the  middle.  The  latter  plan  costs  nearly  as  much  as  that  of 
two  lateral  drains,  and  is  far  less  effective.  It  is  impossible  to  take 
too  much  pains  in  the  laying  out  of  avenues  and  paths,  and  they 
should  be  marked  through  their  whole  extent  with  small  stakes  on 
each  side,  three  or  four  feet  apart,  so  as  to  judge  of  the  effect  from 
all  points  before  work  upon  them  is  begun. 

When  the  dust  incidental  to  these  operations  has  subsided,  the 

painting  of  the  exterior  may  safely  be  completed.     The  first  coat 

has,  or  should  have  been,  put  on  as  soon  as  possible 

Outside       after  the  setting  of  the  wood-work  in  place,  to  prevent 
Painting.  .  .  ,      ,  .       „  ,  . 

it  from  warping  or  "checking"  by  exposure  to  the 

sun,  and  will  now  be  perfectly  dry.  The  next  step  will  be  to  fill  up 
aH  nail-holes  and  crevices  with  putty,  and  for  this  purpose  the  heads 
of  all  the  nails  used  for  securing  the  exterior  finish,  including  clap- 
boards, must  previously  have  been  "  set  in  "  to  a  depth  of  |  of  an 
inch  or  more.  Then,  beginning  with  the  roof,  the  house  is  to  be 
painted  downward,  so  that  the  portions  already  finished  may  not  be 
disfigured  by  spatterings  of  a  different  color  from  above.  With  the 
mineral  reds  generally  used  for  roofs  some  of  the  color  is  apt  to 
wash  down  with  every  rain  for  two  or  three  weeks  after  it  is  put  on, 
so  that  it  is  advisable  to  have  this  portion  completed  and  dried  as 
long  as  possible  before  painting  the  walls.  The  colors  will  generally 
be  chosen  by  the  architect,  whose  experience  m  euun  matters  will 
save  him  at  least  from  the  glaring  blunders  which  amateurs  are  liable 

to  make  ;  and  the  general  rule  is  that  the  smaller  the 
Choice  of  building  the  lighter  its  color  should  be.  Tints  of  green, 

yellowish,  brownish  or  grayish  are  by  far  the  most  pop- 
ular, and  with  reason,  since  the  blending  of  such  colors  with  those 
of  the  surrounding  vegetation  serves  to  connect  the  building  with  the 
ground  and  take  away  the  fragile,  portable  look  which  all  buildings 
exhibit  whose  color  contrasts  sharply  with  that  of  neighboring  ob- 
jects. In  rocky  districts  the  gray  of  the  ledges  might  also  be  sug- 
gested in  some  portions  ->f  the  building  with  excellent  results. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  213 

Where  the  structure  is  disproportionately  high  it  is  advantageous  to 
make  a  decided  difference  in  the  color  of  the  paint  between  the  first 
and  second  stories,  bearing  in  mind  that  when  two  different  colors  are 
placed  side  by  side  they  must  be  of  very  different  shades,  one  being 
light  and  one  dark :  never  both  of  the  same  or  anything  approaching 
the  same  depth.  The  first  story  may  be  a  dark  bronze  green  and 
the  second  a  raw-sienna  yellow,  with  very  good  effect,  and  a  house  so 
painted  will  seem  much  lower  and  more  home-like  than  if  only  a 
slight  variation  or  none  at  all  were  made  in  the  tint  of  different  per- 
tions.  Where  the  proportions  of  the  building  are  such  that  any  ap- 
parent lowering  would  injure  it,  two  slightly  different  shades  of  the 
same  color  may  be  used,  or  the  whole  painted  of  one  uniform  tint. 
The  casings,  corner-boards  and  blinds  are  usually  painted  of  a  darker 
shade  than  the  rest  of  the  house,  the  blinds  being  sometimes  the  dark- 
est of  all,  and  sometimes  of  an  intermediate  tint  between  that  of  the 
** trimmings "  and  the  plain  wall;  but  the  architect  will  be  able  to 
judge  in  each  particular  case  what  treatment  will  most  enhance  the 
effect  of  the  design. 

In  the  durability  of  the  various  pigments  used  in  house-painting 
there  is  less  difference  than  is  generally  supposed.  All  colors  fade 
somewhat,  and  as  the  darker  colors,  such  as  olive  and  sage  green, 
show  the  effect  of  fading  more  plainly  than  the  old-fashioned  paints, 
buffs  and  light  grays,  they  are  generally  thought  to  change  more. 
The  best  method  of  preserving  the  fresh  look  of  an  olive  or  bronze 
green  is  to  put  it  on  over  a  first  coat  of  red  :  white  lead  strongly 
colored  with  Venetian  red,  or  with  Indian  red  and  yellow  ochre,  will 
do  very  well.  The  green  covers  it  perfectly,  taking  only  a  trans- 
parent, mellow  tone,  which  is  very  pleasant,  and  remains  long  after 
two  coats  of  green  would  have  faded  to  a  brownish  shade.  The 
most  fugitive  of  ordinary  colors  for  exteriors  is  vermillion,  which 
soon  changes,  unless  under  very  favorable  conditions,  either  to  a 
black  or  white.  Yellows  bleach  out  by  exposure,  and  browns  acquire 
an  ashy  shade,  although  they  are  perhaps  the  most  permanent  of  all 
ordinary  pigments.  Mineral  reds  for  roofs  soon  blacken. 

The  supervision  of  the  painting  work  is  not  so  difficult  as  the  ex- 
amination of  the  materials  used.  It  is  hardly  neces- 

"  supervision! 

sary  to  say  that  whatever  may  be  the  composition  of  the 

second  coat,  the  first  coat  should  always  contain  a  large  proportion 


214  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

of  white  lead ;  not  that  it  is  desirable  to  modify  the  color  by  the  ad 
mixture,  but  because  white  lead  clings  to  the  wood  with  far  more 
tenacity  than  any  other  pigment,  and  retains  with  it  not  only  the 
other  colors  which  are  added  to  it,  birt  also  a  second  coat  of  less 
adherent  materials.  The  best  lead  will  keep  its  hold  long  after  the 
oil  with  which  it  was  mixed  has  been  washed  away,  forming  the 
"  chalky  "  surface  so  familiar  to  us  on  old  buildings,  while  zinc  and 
other  inferior  paints  blister  and  leave  the  wood  bare.  Something 
may  be  learned  of  the  character  of  the  paint  by  observing  its  be- 
havior in  the  pot  and  under  the  brush,  and  still  more  by  seeing  it 
mixed,  and  observing  the  names  on  the  cans  or  kegs  from  which  it 
is  taken.  The  oil  is  very  likely  to  be  of  inferior  quality,  immense 
amounts  of  fish  oil  being  employed  to  adulterate  the  linseed  oil  sold 
for  painters'  use.  Fish  oil  dries  slowly,  never  acquiring  the  hard- 
ness«and  resistance  to  adverse  influences  of  pure  linseed  oil,  so  that 
the  adulterated  oil  should  be  avoided,  except  for  painting  tin  roofs, 
where  its  softness  has  some  advantage  in  enabling  the  paint  to  yield 
to  the  expansion  and  contraction  of  the  metal  without  cracking.  The 
patent  mixed  or  "  chemical "  paints  are  convenient,  and  of  carefully 
selected  shades,  and  are  said  to  last  well  away  from  the  sea-coast ; 
but  for  buildings  exposed  to  salt  breezes  from  the  ocean  most  archi- 
tects prefer  colors  prepared  in  the  usual  way.  Oil  paints  of  any 
kind,  after  long  standing,  become  "fat"  and  work  less  evenly  undei 
the  brush,  so  that  a  fresh  mixture  of  good  materials  is  perhaps 
always  to  be  preferred. 

The  paint  should  be  put  on  by  strokes  parallel  with  the  grain  of 
the  wood,  and  long,  smooth  pieces,  such  as  window  and  door  casings, 
should  be  finished  by  drawing  the  brush  carefully  along  the  whole 
length,  so  that  there  may  be  no  break  in  the  lines.  No  work  should 
be  started  in  the  morning  which  cannot  be  finished  before  night ;  for 
instance,  if  one  side  of  the  house  is  begun,  it  should  be  completed, 
if  not  to  the  bottom,  at  least  down  to  some  important  belt  or  other 
division  line  :  otherwise  the  junction  of  the  portions  executed  at  dif- 
ferent times  will  show  as  an  ugly  streak. 

Where  a  building  is  much  exposed  to  the  weather,  three  coats  of 
paint  will  not  be  too  much  to  preserve  it ;  but  it  is  usually  better  to 
include  only  two  coats  —  the  priming  coat  and  one  other,  in  the  con- 
tract. In  this  way  the  work  will  be  better  done,  as  there  is  lest 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  215 

opportunity  to  cover  up  deficiencies,  and  the  paint  is  less  liable  to 
blister  than  where  three  coats  are  applied  at  once.  After  two  or 
three  seasons'  wear,  a  third  coat  may  be  put  on  and  will  stay  in 
place. 

It  is  becoming  common  to  stain  or  varnish  the  exterior  of  wooden 
buildings  instead  of  painting  them.  In  the  shingled  Swiss  houses 
the  stone  basement  is  frequently  painted  in  two  colors,  while  the 
wood-work  above  is  always  left  in  its  natural  condi- 
tion, to  turn  gray  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  a  similar  treatment  for  picturesque  buildings,  par- 
ticularly in  rocky  situations,  often  has  a  charming  effect.  Under 
other  circumstances,  where  a  greater  variety  of  color  is  desirable, 
stains  serve  to  change  the  tints  of  the  different  portions  without  de- 
stroying the  transparent  richness  due  to  the  varied  grain  of  the  wood. 
Linseed  oil  alone  is  occasionally  used  as  a  dressing,  but  although 
the  effect  is  good  for  a  time,  the  wood  soon  mildews  and  becomes 
black.  Oil  of  creosote,  which  can  be  obtained  at  a  low  price  from 
any  gas-works,  gives  a  blackish  stain  at  once.  Linseed  oil  mixed  with 
umber,  raw  or  burnt,  Vandyke  brown,  sienna,  or  other  colors,  is 
sometimes  used  for  a  stain,  and  the  surface  then  protected  with  wax 
or  varnish.  By  applying  these  pigments,  selected  as  pure  in  quality 
as  possible,  until  the  desired  shade  is  obtained,  and  finishing  with 
two  coats  of  wax  dissolved  in  hot  linseed  oil,  a  lasting  surface  of  a 
pleasant  texture  is  produced.  Pellucidite,  or  other  good  water-proof 
varnish,  answers  the  same  purpose  as  the  wax,  and  the  varnish  alone 
is  sometimes  used. 

The  last  part  of  the  outside  painting  is  the  "  drawing "  of  the 
window-sashes.  It  is  essential  that  these  should  be  securely  pro- 
tected against  the  absorption  of  moisture,  and  at  least  three  coats 
must  be  applied,  of  red,  yellow,  black,  bronze  green,  white  or  other 
color,  as  may  be  preferred. 

For  inside  work  the  same  materials  are  used  as  for  the  outside, 
but  it  is  even  more  necessary  that  they  should  be  of  the  best  qual- 
ity.    Fish  oil,  for  instance,  which  will  soften  on  damp 
days,  is  very  unsuitable  for  inside  use.     The  puttying        w£rkt 
should  be  done   with  great  care  to  avoid  unsightly 
spots,  and  one  coat  of  oil  or  paint  must  be  put  on  before  puttying, 
to  prevent  the  putty  from  shrinking  and  falling  out  through  the 


'416  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

absorption  of  the  oil  from  it  by  the  dry  wood.  In  very  cheap 
houses,  finished  in  hard  wood  or  pine  of  the  natural  color,  two  coats 
of  oil  often  complete  the  work,  and  this  application  answers  well 
enough  if  a  polish  is  not  desired.  Wh«re,  however,  a  shining  sur- 
face is  intended,  one  coat  of  oil  only  should  be  put  on  to  bring  out 
the  grain  of  the  wood,  followed  by  a  "  filling  "  of  patent  paste  com- 
position, white  wax,  chalk,  oil  mixed  with  pigments  of  some  kind,  or 
with  wood-dust,  and  finished  with  shellac,  pellucidite,  or  some  other 
varnish,  or  a  wax  polish.  Of  these,  shellac,  if  simply  put  on  in  one 
or  two  coats,  without  rubbing  down,  forms  the  cheapest  and  poorest 
dressing.  If,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  put  on  in  three  or  four  coats, 
rubbed  down  with  emery-cloths  dipped  in  oil  after  each  coat,  it 
forms  the  most  expensive,  and  the  best  of  all  applications.  The 
patent  varnishes,  of  which  there  are  many  kinds,  are  easily  applied, 
and  give,  with  two  coats,  a  good  finish.  The  hard  wax  polish  gives 
a  beautiful  surface,  which  may  be  renewed,  wholly  or  in  part,  at  any 
time. 

Where  a  painted  finish  is  intended,  the  principal  point  to  be 
observed  is  the  thorough  covering  with  shellac,  before  priming  of 
knots  and  pitchy  places,  which  will  otherwise  discolor  the  paint  over 
them. 

Bad  knots  cannot  be  "  killed  "  even  by  this  application,  and  snould 
be  cut  out,  and  a  niece  of  sound  wood  set  in  their  place.  The  most 
annoying  stains  come  from  the  minute  dots  of  pitch  which  often 
speckle  the  entire  surface  of  a  pine  board,  but  escape  notice  until 
after  the  painting  is  completed,  when  each  one  manifests  itself  by  a 
yellow  stain.  Some  architects,  to  make  sure  of  complete  protection, 
specify  that  the  whole  of  ihe  pine  finish  shall  receive  one  or  two 
coats  of  shellac  before  priming. 

Zinc  is  much  used  for  interior  work  instead  of  white  lead,  and  is 
preferred  by  some  on  account  of  its  freedom  from  the  tendency  of 
lead  to  turn  yellow  in  rooms  which  are  not  well  lighted.  The  char- 
acter to  be  given  to  the  surface  varies  with  circumstances  and 
fashion.  Usually,  a  dead  or  "  flattened  "  finish  is  preferred,  and  is 
obtained  by  mixing  the  final  coat  of  paint  with  pure  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine instead  of  oil.  Where  the  paint  is  exposed  to  the  contact 
of  clothes  or  fingers,  an  "  oil  finish,"  containing  little  or  no  turpen- 
tine, is  employed,  and  gives  a  somewhat  glossy  surface  which  can  be 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  217 

washed  readily.  For  hotel  rooms  and  other  places  liable  to  much 
wear,  a  "  china  gloss,"  made  by  mixing  the  paint  with  varnish,  is 
often  specified  for  the  last  coat,  or  the  whole  is  varnished  after  com- 
pletion. Whatever  the  style  of  finish,  the  manipulation  should  be 
careful  and  neat.  Every  coat  of  paint  except  the  last  should  be 
sandpapered  to  a  smooth  surface,  and  in  each  coat  the  brush-marks 
should  be  so  drawn  as  to  follow  the  lines  of  the  wood-work,  without 
joinings. 

If  fresco  color  is  used,  the  most  experienced  workmen  only  should 
be  employed  to  apply  it.     So  much  depends  upon  the 
consistency  of  the  size,  the  mode  of  putting  on  the 
color,  and  other  circumstances,  that  an  unaccustomed  hand  is  almost 
sure  to  fail. 

Hard-wood  floors  are  not  easily  finished  in  a  perfectly  durable 
and  satisfactory  manner.  The  soft,  elastic  varnishes  which  answer 
for  the  doors  and  standing  finish  are,  although  some- 
times employed,  unfit  for  floors,  while  the  hard  spirit 
varnishes,  though  more  durable,  will  ultimately  wear  away  in  certain 
portions  of  the  floor,  leaving  the  pores  of  the  wood  exposed  to  dirt, 
which  quickly  fills  them,  and  after  this  nothing  but  replaning  and  re- 
varnishing  will  restore  them.  For  this  reason,  the  ancient  wax  polish, 
although  more  troublesome,  is  perhaps  to  be  preferred.  The  wax 
fills  the  pores  of  the  wood  so  that,  although  the  surface  may  be  worn 
away,  dust  will  not  enter  so  long  as  any  wax  remains,  and  by  periodi. 
cnl  waxing  and  repolishing  the  floor  may  be  kept  clean  and  shining 
until  absolutely  worn  out.  An  advantageous  substitute  for  the  ordi- 
nary wax,  which  is  so  sticky  as  to  need  frequent  polishing  to  keep  it 
bright,  is  made  by  mixing  it  with  more  or  less  hard  paraifine.  Such 
a  compound  is  sometimes  sold  for  use  in  dancing-halls  in  blocks,  which 
are  scraped,  and  the  resulting  powder  scattered  over  the  floor  and 
rubbed  into  the  wood  by  the  feet  of  the  dancers ;  but  the  best  varie- 
ties are  softened  with  turpentine  to  a  paste,  which  is  sold  in  cans, 
and  needs  only  to  be  applied  evenly  over  the  floor,  and  after  a  few 
hours'  drying  polished  with  cloths,  or  with  weighted  brushes,  made 
for  the  purpose  and  dragged  to  and  fro  over  the  room.  The  same 
brushes  are  used  to  brighten  the  surface  when  it  becomes  dull,  and 
any  worn  spots  can  be  brought  back  to  an  equal  polish  with  the  rest 
by  a  new  application  of  the  wax. 


218  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  glazing  is  usually  done  by  the  painter,  who  sends  the  sashes 
to  the  building  with  the  glass  all  set,  and  the  superintendent  will  have 
little  to  do  except  to  see  that  the  glass  is  of  the  speci- 
fied quality,  and  that  aljnhe  work  is  left  whole  and 
clean.  The  difference  between  first  and  second  quality  sheet-glass 
must  be  learned  by  observation,  and  in  judging  of  the  glass  in  a 
building  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  much  easier  to  obtain  small 
lights  free  from  defects  or  uneven  places  than  large  ones;  and  that 
double-thick  glass,  such  as  should  be  specified  for  all  lights  larger 
•than  about  16"  x  30"  unless  plate-glass  is  used,  shows  any  uneven- 
ness  of  surface  more  plainly  than  the  thinner  sheets. 

This  last  item  having  been  examined,  the  young  architect's  duties 
of  supervision  will  be  ended ;  and  it  will  only  remain  to  review  the 
notes  which  he  ought  to  have  made  during  the  progress  of  the  build- 
ing, in  order  to  fix  in  his  mind  more  clearly  the  observations  con- 
tained in  them,  and  thereby  prepare  himself  to  carry  out  his  next 
commission  with  still  greater  satisfaction  to  himself  and  his  client. 
More  particularly  for  the  information  of  persons  intending  to  build, 
an  actual  set  of  specifications  for  a  country  house  of  moderate  cost, 
together  with  contracts  for  the  same,  will  follow. 


BUILDING    SUPERINTENDENCE. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

SPECIFICATIONS  OP  LABOR  AND  MATERIALS  FOR  DWELLING-HOUSE  TO  BH 
BUILT  ON  FAIRFIELD  STREET,  MELROSE,  N.  Y.,  FOR  JAMES  JOHNSON, 

ESQ.,  FROM  THE  PLANS  AND  UNDER  THE  SUPERINTENDENCE  OF  MR. 

EDWARD  TYRO,  ARCHITECT,  13  RIALTO  STREET,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

GENERAL   CONDITIONS. 

EACH  contractor  is  to  provide  all  materials  and  labor  necessary 
for  the  complete  and  substantial  execution  of  everything  described, 
shown,  or  reasonably  implied  in  the  drawings  and  specifications  for 
his  part  of  the  work,  including  all  transportation,  scaffolding,  appa- 
ratus and  utensils  requisite  for  the  same ;  all  materials  to  be  the  best 
of  their  respective  kinds,  and  all  workmanship  to  be  of  the  best 
quality. 

Each  contractor  is  to  set  out  his  own  work  correctly  and  is  to  give 
it  his  personal  superintendence,  keeping  also  a  competent  fore- 
man constantly  on  the  ground,  and  no  contractor  is  to  sublet  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  his  work  without  the  written  consent  of  the 
owner.  The  architect  or  his  authorized  representative  is  to  have  at 
all  times  access  to  the  work,  which  is  to  be  entirely  under  his  control, 
and  may  by  written  notice  require  any  contractor  to  dismiss  forthwith 
such  workmen  as  he  deems  incompetent  or  careless,  and  may  also  re- 
quire any  contractor  to  remove  from  the  premises  such  of  his  mate- 
rials or  work  as  in  his  opinion  are  not  in  accordance  with  the  speci^ 
fication,  and  to  substitute  without  delay  satisfactory  work  and  mate- 
rials, the  expense  of  doing  so  and  of  making  good  other  work  dis- 
turbed by  the  change  to  be  borne  by  the  said  contractor ;  and  each 
contractor  is  also  at  his  own  cost  to  amend  and  make  good  any  de- 
fects, settlements,  shrinkage  or  other  faults  in  his  work  arising  from 


£20  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

defective  or  improper  materials  or  workmanship  which  may  appear 
within  twelve  months  after  the  completion  of  the  building,  and  is  to 
clear  away  from  time  to  time  the  dirt  and  rubbish  resulting  from  his 
operations,  and  cover  and  protect  his  .-Work  and  materials  from  all 
damage  during  the  progress  of  the  building,  and  deliver  the  whole 
clean  and  in  perfect  condition.  All  work  and  materials  are  to  com- 
ply in  every  respect  with  the  building  laws,  city  or  town  regula- 
tions and  the  directions  of  the  Inspector  of  Buildings,  and  such 
building  laws,  regulations  and  directions  are  to  be  considered  as  a 
part  of  this  specification  and  the  contract  to  which  it  relates.  Each 
contractor  is  to  give  to  the  proper  authorities  all  requisite  notices  re- 
lating to  work  in  his  charge,  obtain  official  permits  and  licenses  for 
temporary  obstructions,  and  pay  all  proper  fees  for  the  same  and  for 
use  of  water  for  building,  and  entrance  into  sewers  or  drains,  and  is 
to  be  solely  answerable  for  all  damage,  injury  or  delay  caused  to 
other  contractors,  to  neighboring  premises  or  to  the  persons  or  prop- 
erty of  the  public,  by  himself  or  his  men,  or  through  any  operations 
under  his  charge,  whether  in  contract  or  extra  work. 

The  contractor  for  the  mason-work  is  to  have  charge  of  the  prem- 
ises subject  only  to  the  right  of  other  contractors,  the  owner  and  the 
architect  or  his  representative  to  have  free  access  thereto,  until  the 
[stV/]  is  on,  and  is  to  provide  and  maintain  all  requisite  guards,  lights, 
temporary  sidewalks  and  fences  during  that  time ;  afterwards  the 
contractor  for  the  carpenter-work  is  to  take  charge  in  the  same  way 
until  the  whole  is  completed. 

Each  contractor  is  to  carry  on  his  work  at  all  times  with  the 
greatest  reasonable  rapidity,  under  the  direction  and  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  architect.  The  several  portions  are  to  be  completed  on 
or  before  the  following  dates : 


Foundation  to  be  ready  for  sill November  1, 1883. 

House  to  be  entirely  enclosed December  1,  1883. 

Chimneys  and  piers  to  be  finished "  7,  1883. 

Back  plastering "         10,  1883. 

Outside  finish  completed  and  interior  ready  for 

plastering January  20,  1884. 

Plastering  completed February  10,  1884. 

Interior  wood-work  done April  1,  1884. 

Painters' work  completed "    15,1884. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  2S1 

MASON. 
EXCAVATION,   ETC. 

Set  proper  batter-boards  and  mark  out  the  building  accurately 
under  the  direction  of  the  architect.  Batter-boards. 

Take  off  the  sod  and  loam  from  site  of  house  and 
for  eight  feet  additional  in  width  all  around.     Excavate  the  cellar 
to  a  depth  of  five  feet  below  the  highest  part  of  the  ground  covered 
by  the  building,  making  the  excavation  eight  inches 
wider  all  around  than  the  outside  of  foundation-walls ; 
excavate  trenches  for  all  walls  two  feet  below  cellar  bottom,  and  for 
footings  of  piers  and  chimneys  eight  inches  below  cellar  bottom ;  ex- 
cavate for  posts  and  piers  of  porches  and  piazzas  four   feet  below 
present  surface ;  excavate  trench  four  feet  deep  and  [one  hundred] 
feet  long  for  drain-pipe,  and  excavate  cesspool  eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  twelve  feet  deep.     Excavate  for  dry  well  to  each  rain-water 
leader  where  directed,  eight  feet  from  the  house  and  five  feet  deep, 
and  for  trench  four  feet  deep  from  each  dry  well  to  house. 

[AREAS,  CISTERNS,  ETC.] 

Separate  the  loam  and  stack  by  itself  where  directed,  and  dump 
the  other  earth  from  the  excavations  wherever  directed  within  two 
hundred  feet  of  the  building.  Clear  away  and  remore  all  rubbish 
entirely  from  the  premises  at  the  completion  of  the 
building.  Refill  dry  wells  and  around  cellar-walls  with  ^JJi"  *?a" 
small  stones  or  gravel.  Refill  with  ordinary  earth 
around  cesspools,  posts,  piers,  and  pipes.  Ram  thoroughly  or  pud- 
dle with  water  all  filling  material  every  foot  in  height ;  spread  and 
grade  neatly  the  remainder  of  the  material  from  the  excavation  as 
directed,  forming  gravel-walks  and  drive-ways  neatly,  and  elsewhere 
spreading  the  loam  evenly  on  top,  sowing  in  the  best  manner  with 
blue-grass  seed  and  rolling,  and  finishing  with  two  feet  in  width  of 
the  best  sods  on  each  side  of  gravel-walks  and  drive-ways,  and  three 
feet  in  width  around  house  and  piazzas,  all  to  be  done  in  the  best 
manner,  properly  cared  for,  watered  and  kept  in  order  until  the 
house  is  delivered. 

If  any  blasting  should  be  necessary  for  making  -the  -excavationi 


TJ'IIYIRSITY 


222  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

above  specified  [seven]  cents  per  cubic  foot  will   be  paid  by  the 

owner  for  blasting,  breaking  up,  and  removing  the 

stone  ;  but  all  stone  so  removed  which  may  be  suitable 

shall  be  used  in  building  the  cellar  walls  or  piers,  and  for  all  stone 

so  taken  from  the  excavation  and  used  in  the  building,  the  contractor 

shall  pay  the  owner  at  the  rate  of  [seven]  cents  per  cubic  foot. 

Furnish  and  lay  in  the  best  manner  from  outside  of  cellar-wall  to 

cesspool  [one  hundred]  feet  of  first  quality  [Portland,  Akron,  Scotch] 

five-inch    glazed   earthenware   drain-pipe,   all   uni- 

"  formly  graded,  the  bed  hollowed  for  the  hubs,  and 

all  jointed  with  clear,  fresh  Portland  cement,  and  the  joints  scraped 

smooth  inside  as  laid.     Leave  the  line  of  pipes  open  until  inspected 

and  approved  before  refilling  the  trench.     Include  in 

the  line  of  pipe  a  five-inch  running  trap  of  the  same 

make,  with  hand-hole,  to  be  placed  not  less  than  six  feet  from  the 

house,  and  the  hand-hole  closed  by  tight  cover ;  and  include  also  a 

5"  x  5"  T-branch  where  directed,  between  the  house 

F°0t tlon*110"  and  tlie  traP'  tlie  brancn  of  tlie  T  to  be  turne(1  up- 
ward, and  a  vertical  five-inch  pipe  of  the  same  make 

to  be  brought  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  covered  with  a  proper 
earthenware  ventilating  cap,  all  jointed  with  cement. 

Furnish  and  lay  four-inch  glazed  earthenware  pipes 
Underground     _    _  ,        ,i  ,. 

Pipes  for      of  the  same  make,  all  jointed  in  cement,  from  each 
Ram-Water.  jry  we|j  ^o  ^Q  rain-water  leaders.      Each  pipe  to 
turn  with  a  quarter-bend  at  the  cellar  wall  and  to  be  brought  up- 
ward to  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  receive  the  foot  of  the  leader. 


FOUNDATIONS. 

All  the  lime  used  in  the  mason-work  throughout  to  be  Extra  No.  1 

[Rockland,  Canaan,  Glen's  Falls,]  and  all  cement  except  that  used  for 

jointing  drain-pipes  to  be  best  fresh  [Rosendale,  Akron< 

Cement.      Louisville,"]  of  the  [F.  0.  Norton]  brand.     All  sand  to 

Sand.        De  clean  and  sharp,  and  used  in  proper  proportions. 

Furnish   all   materials   and   build   the  cellar-walls 

18  inches  thick  to  the  underside  of  sills  of  good  ledge  or  other 

approved  stone;  the  first  18  inches  to  be  laid  dry  in  the  trenches, 

and  the  remainder  to  be  laid  in  mortar  made  with  lime  and  cement 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  223 

in  equal  parts  and  clean,  sharp  sand  in  proper  proportion ;  the 
whole  to  be  laid  to  a  line  on  each  face,  well  bonded, 
the  joints  filled  with  mortar  and  all  to  be  thoroughly 
trowel-pointed  inside  and  outside  the  whole  height,  holding  the  trow- 
el obliquely  so  as  to  weather  the  pointing  on  the  outside.  Set  the 
best  face  of  the  stones  outside,  both  above  and  below  ground.  Set 
stone  footings  for  piers  and  chimneys  and  foundations  for  range  and 
boiler; .  Level  up  carefully  and  bed  the  sill  in  cement-mortar  and 
point  up  around  it  inside  and  outside,  and  bed  and  point  up  around 
frames  of  basement  windows.  Build  piers  of  dry  stone  for  front 
granite  step.  Leave  openings  for  drain,  gas  and  water  pipes,  and 
fill  up  around  them  afterwards. 

Build  the  cesspool  with  circular  wall  of  dry  stone  eighteen  inches 
thick.   Draw  in  the  top  and  cover  with  three-inch  planed  blue-stone, 
two  feet  square,  with  man-hole  and  grated  cover,  set 
in  cement  four  inches  below  finished  grade,  and  the 
sod  neatly  turned  down  upon  it.     Build  in  the  drain-pipe  properly. 

Furnish  and  set  one  step  of  best  clear  [Connecticut]  granite  at  front 
porch,  to  be  eight  feet  long,  sixteen  inches  wide  on 
top,  and  twelve  inches  high,  seven  inches  to  be  above 
ground  ;  the  part  above  ground,  top  and  ends,  to  be  pene  hammered. 

All  the  bricks  used  in  the  building  except  for  fireplaces,  hearths, 
and  setting  of  range,  furnace  and  boiler  to  be  the  best  hard  com- 
mon brick,  to  be  carefully  culled  for  facing  of  chim-  . 

„  *    ,  Brickwork. 

neys  above  roof,  and  all  to  be  new,  well-shaped,  and 

of  uniform  size.  All  to  be  laid  wet  except  in  freezing  weather,  with 
joints  thoroughly  flushed  up  with  mortar,  and  all  well  bonded.  All 
brickwork  to  be  afterwards  plastered  is  to  have  rough  joints,  other 
work  to  have  the  joints  neatly  struck;  and  all  work  visible  outside 
the  house  to  be  washed  down  after  completion  with  muriatic  acid. 

Build  piers  in  cellar  and  for  outside  work  as  shown  on  plans,  all 
to  be  12"  x  12",  laid  in  inortar  made  with  equal  parts 
of  lime  and  cement  and  wedged  tightly  up  to  under- 
side of  timbers  with  slate  chips  in  mortar. 

Build  the  chimneys  as  shown  on  drawings,  with  flues  8"  x  12"  01 

8"  x  8"  as  shown,  of  hard  brick  in  mortar  made  with 

Chimneys, 
one  part  cement  to  two  parts  lime  to   underside  of 

roof  boarding ;  above  roof  to  be  of  selected  brick,  formed  accord 


224  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ing  to  drawings  and  details  and  laid  in  mortar  made  with  equal 
parts  of  lime  and  cement,  colored  with  Venetian  red  to  a  light  red 
color,  and  the  upper  four  courses  to  be  laid  in  clear  cement.  The 
brickwork  of  chimneys  to  be  kept  in  all  cases  at  least  one  inch  clear 
of  any  wood-work.  All  withs  to  be  four  inches  thick,  well  bonded 
into  the  walls,  and  all  flues  to  be  carried  up  separately  to  the  top. 
Plaster  every  flue  smoothly  inside  to  the  top,  and  clean  out  at  com- 
pletion, and  plaster  the  outside  of  each  chimney  from  basement  floor 
to  underside  of  roof  boarding.  Build  in  lead  flashings,  to  be  provided 
by  the  carpenter,  and  provide  and  build  in  eyes  and  set  strong 
wrought-iron  stays,  as  directed,  to  all  chimneys  rising  more  than  fif- 
teen feet  above  the  roof.  Provide  and  set  eight-inch  iron  thimble  in 
furnace-flue,  sixteen  inches  clear  below  underside  of  beams,  and  five- 
inch  thimbles  and  covers  with  ventilating  arrangement  in  laundry,  two 
feet  clear  below  ceiling,  and  in  two  attics,  to  be  three  feet  clear  above 
floor  unless  otherwise  directed.  Provide  and  set  also  8"  x  8"  iron 
cleaning-out  door  and  frame  in  furnace-flue,  two  feet  above  basement 
floor ;  and  a  12"  x  12"  door  and  frame  in  each  ash-pit,  close  to  base- 
ment floor;  and  S"  x  12"  black  japanned  ventilating  register  in 
kitchen. 

Turn  4-inch  trimmer-arches  on  centres  to  all  fireplaces,  to  be  two 
feet  wide  by  the  length  of  the  breast ;  turn  also  trim- 
Arches!!'     naer-arches  in  front  of  range  and  wash-boiler  to  sup- 
port hearths  not  less  than  20"  wide  in  front  of  each. 
Level  up  with  cement-concrete  or  brickwork,  to  receive  hearths. 

Build  the  fireplaces  with  the  rough  brickwork  only  at  first, 
making  the  opening  three  feet  high  above  top  of  beams,  and  putting 
in  two  £"  x  2"  wrought-iron  chimney-bars  to  each 
opening,  each  bar  to  be  eight  inches  longer  than  the 
opening.  After  the  house  is  plastered  provide  all  materials  and 
build  fireplaces  and  hearths  according  to  detail  drawings,  and  cover 
securely  with  boards  for  protection  until  the  building  is  delivered. 
The  fireplace  in  parlor  is  to  be  lined  with  ornamental  cast-iron 
plates,  of  pattern  to  be  selected  by  the  owner,  and  to  cost  ten  dollars 
per  set,  exclusive  of  putting  up ;  and  to  have  facings  of  French  ma- 
jolica tiles,  to  be  selected  by  the  owner  and  tc  cost  twenty-five  dollars 
per  set  exclusive  of  putting  up,  and  hearth  of  royal  blue  glazed 
American  riles  in  three-inch  squares  with  border  of  two  rows  of  one- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  225 

inch  black  glazed  tiles,  with  one  row  between  of  Low's  three-inch 
Chelsea  tiles,  of  pattern  to  be  selected  by  the  owner ;  the  hearth  to 
be  20"  wide  and  5'  6"  long,  inclusive  of  border.  All  to  be  executed 
in  the  best  manner  by  skilled  workmen,  the  tile  facings  to  be  secured 
in  place  with  polished  brass  angle-bars,  and  the  hearth  to  be  laid  in 
Portland  cement,  and  all  to  be  thoroughly  backed  up  with  brick  and 
mortar.  Make  the  hearth  within  the  fireplace  of  good  face-brick. 
Th«  dining-room  fireplace  is  to  be  lined  with  Philadelphia  glazed 
brick  to  be  selected  by  the  owner,  and  is  to  have  facing  of  Italian 
griotte  marble,  4"  wide  and  £"  thick,  with  cavetto  moulding  around 
the  opening,  and  hearth  20"  by  5',  of  American  unglazed  red  tilea 
without  border,  all  executed  in  the  best  manner  and  thoroughly 
backed  up  with  brick  and  mortar,  and  to  have  face-brick  hearth 
within  the  fireplace. 

All  the  other  fireplaces  in  the  building  are  to  be  of  selected 
pressed  brick  with  borders  of  moulded  brick,  as  per  detail  drawings, 
and  hearths  of  16"  width  by  length  as  directed,  of  pressed  brick  laid 
flat,  with  border  of  brick  moulded  with  half-round  on  the  edge, 
mitered  at  the  angles  and  set  with  the  half-round  projecting  above 
the  floor,  all  laid  in  red  mortar  and  neatly  pointed.  All  fireplaces 
to  be  built  in  the  best  manner,  with  ^"  x  2"  chimney-bars,  8"  longer 
than  the  opening,  to  support  those  shown  with  square  openings,  all 
well  backed  up,  and  the  joint  between  old  and  new  work  thoroughly 
broken  to  prevent  the  escape  of  sparks.  Provide  and  set  neat  ash. 
grates  to  all  first-story  fireplaces,  without  dampers. 

Set  the  range,  to  be  provided  by  another  contractor,  in  pressed 
brick  in  the  best  manner,  to  show  a  12-inch  pier  on  each  side,  and 
carrying  up  the  face-brick  setting  to  the  ceiling,  with 
liiitel  of  rubbed  blue-stone,  five  courses  high  by  the 
whole  length  of  the  breast,  to  hold  the  brickwork  above.    Make 
hearth  to  the  same  20"  wide  by  the  full  length  of  range  and  piers, 
of  pressed  brick  laid  flat  in  cement. 

Do  all  excavation  and  other  work  necessary  and  furnish  all  mate- 
rials, and  set  in  the  best  manner  in  pressed  brick  the  furnace  to  be 
provided  by  the  contractor  for  the  heating.     Make 
cold-air  chamber  under  furnace  not  less  than  eighteen 
inches  deep,  all  of  hard  brick  in  clear  cement,  with  bottom  of  the 
same,  and  make  cold-air  box  ten  feet  long  under  cellar  floor  for 


226  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

supplying  the  same,  to  be  18"  deep  by  3'  wide,  with  bottom  and 

sides  of  hard  brick  in  clear  cement,  and  all  plastered 

"  with  cement,  and  covered  with  3-inch  flagstones  with 

close  axed  joints.     Connect"  the  cold-alp"  box  complete  and   make 

tight  all  around  it,  and  leave  the  whole  in  perfect  working  order. 

Provide  and  set  in  laundry  where  directed  a  35-gallon  J^Steeger's] 
best  heavy  tinned  copper  wash-boiler  with  dished   soapstone  top, 
grate,  ash-pit,  and  doors  complete,  and  with  steam- 
pipe  connected  properly  into  flue.     All  to  be  set  in 
pressed  brick  in  the  best  manner,  and  to  have  hearth  20  inches  wide 
by  the  length  of  the  boiler,  of  pressed  brick  laid  flat  in  cement. 

Lay  two  courses  of  rough  brick  in  mortar  on  top  of  foundation 
wralls  behind  sill  all  around  the  building,  and  fill  up  with  four  courses 

of  the  same  between  beams  on  top  of  sill.     Lav  four 
Brick  Filling.  .  * 

courses  of  the  same  on  top  of  all  dropped  girts  and 

caps  of  partitions  which  carry  beams  in  every  story  between  the 
beams  and  studs,  and  build  a  vertical  4-inch  wall  of  the  same  from 
the  plate  all  around  to  underside  of  roof-boarding.  After  the  par- 
titions are  bridged  lay  one  course  of  brick  in  mortar  between  studs 
on  top  of  all  the  bridging  throughout.  Lay  one  course  of  brick  in 
mortar  on  top  of  under  floor  in  each  story  around  all  chimneys  and 
between  the  furring  studs  of  the  breasts,  filling  the  whole  space  from 
brickwork  of  chimneys  to  outside  of  studs. 

Level  off  the  cellar  floor,  roll  or  settle  thoroughly,  and  concrete 

the  whole  three  inches  thick  in  the  best  manner,  the 

concrete  to  be  made  with  one  part  fresh  [.F.  0.  Norton 

Rosendale]  cement  to  two  parts  clean  sharp  sand,  and  three  parts 

washed  pebbles  or  broken  stone,  and  the  portion  not  covered  by 

wooden  floor  to  be  smoothed  off  neatly,  and  all  left  perfect  at  the 

completion  of  the  building. 

The  mason  is  to  assist  the  other  mechanics  employed  in  the  build- 
ing wherever  his  help  is  necessary,  and  is  to  do  all 
Miscellane-       °  .  ,    .  .  ,  .  .  */  . 

ous.          cutting  and  jobbing  required  without  extra  charge 

and  leave  all  perfect. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  227 

PLASTERER. 

[If  this  is  made  a  separate  contract,  the  full  title  and  the  General  Con 
ditions  should  precede  the  Specification.] 

THE  plasterer  is  to  examine  and  try  all  ceilings,  partitions,  and 
furrings,  and  is  to  notify  the  carpenter  of  all  that     verifying 
are  not  square,  true,  plumb  and  level,  and  see  that     Furrings. 
they  are  corrected  before  lathing,  and  that  all  are  firm  and  secure. 

Back-plaster  the  whole  of  exterior  walls  from  sill  to  plate  between 
the  studs,  on   laths   nailed  horizontally  f"  apart   to        Back- 
other  laths  or   vertical  strips   put  on   the  inside   of    Plastering. 
the  boarding,  all  well  trowelled  and  brought  well  out  on  the  studs, 
girts,  and  plate,  making  all  air-tight. 

Lath  and  plaster  basement  ceiling  one  heavy  coat,     one-Coat 
well  trowelled  and  smoothed.  Work, 

Lath  and  plaster  two  coats  in  the  best  manner  all  other  studdings, 
underside  of  stairs,  partitions,  furrings  and  ceilings  throughout  the 
building,  except  in  rooms  marked  "  Unfinished  "  on     Two-Coat 
plans,  carrying  the  plaster  to  the  floor  everywhere.         Work. 
Laths  to  be  best  seasoned  pine,  free  from  knots,  bark  or  stains,  all 
laid  f"  apart,  and  breaking  joint  every  six  courses  and  over  all  door 
and  window  heads.     The  first  coat  of  plaster  to  be  of 
No.  1  Extra  [Rockland]  lime,  and  clean,  sharp  sand, 
well  mixed  with  a  half  bushel  of  best  long  cattle  or  goat's  hair  to 
each  cask  of  lime,  thoroughly  worked  and  stacked  at  least  one  week 
before  using,  in  some  sheltered  place,  but  not  in  the  cellar  of  the 
house ;  all  to  be  well  trowelled,  straightened  with  a  straight-edge 
and  made  perfectly  true,  and  brought  well  up  to  the  grounds.     The 
skim  coat  to  be  of  No.  1  Extra  [Rockland]  lime,  slaked  at  least  seven 
days  before  using,  and  washed  [beach]  sand,  and  well  floated. 

Run  moulded  cornice,  not  over  30"  girt,  with  one  enriched  mem- 
ber, in  Parlor,  and  plain  moulded  cornices,  not  over  24"  girt,  in 

Dining-room,  Library,  and  four  chambers  in  second 

J       T,  „  Cornices. 

story,  and  in  first-story  Hall,  carrying  two  members 


228  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

of  the  ball  cornice  up  the  soffit  of  stairs  to  second  story  and  around 
second-story  hall:  all  to  be  ia  accordance  with  detail  drawings. 

Form  beams  where  show-n,  according  to  detail  draw- 
ings. 

Plant  plaster  centres  in  Parlor,  Dining-room  and  Library,  to  be  3' 
in  diameter  in  Parlor,  and  2'  6"  in  Dining-room  and 
Library,  all  to  be  made  in  accordance  with  detail  draw- 
ings, and  two  wax  models  to  be  made  and  approved  before  casting. 

Point  up  with  lime  and  hair  mortar  around  outside  door  and  win- 
dow frames ;  clear  away  and  remove  all  rubbish  from  the  premises 
after  the  second  coat  of  plaster  is  on ;  clean  the  mortar  off  the  floors 
and  sweep  out  the  house  and  leave  all  ready  for  the  wood  finish ; 
patch  up  and  repair  all  the  plastering  at  the  completion  of  the  build- 
ing, and  leave  all  perfect. 

_._.  ._        Whitewash  cellar  ceiling,  walls  and  piers  two  coats 

Whitewash.    .      _     , 

in  the  best  manner. 


CARPENTER. 

[If  this  is  made  a  separate  contract,  the  full  title  and  the  General  Con 
ditions  should  precede  the  Specification.] 

Sill,  6"  x  6",  halved  and  pinned  at  angles. 
Scantlings. 

Plates,  4"  x  6". 

Posts  at  angles  and  opposite  partitions,  4"  x  8". 

Girts,  4"  x  8". 

Braces,  4"  x  4". 

Window  studs,  3"  x  4". 

Doer  studs,  4"  x  4". 

All  other  studding,  2"  x  4",  16"  on  centres. 

Partition  caps,  3"  x  4". 

Soles,  2"  x  5£". 

Girders,  8"  x  10". 

Sleepers,  6"  x  6",  8'  apart. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  229 

Floor  beams,  2"  x  10",  16"  on  centres. 

Headers,  4"  x  10",  and  6"  x  10",  according  to  framing  plans. 

Trimmers,  4"  x  10",  and  6"  x  10",  according  to  framing  plans. 

Rafters,  2"  x  6",  or  2"  x  8",  as  marked  on  framing  plans,  20"  on 
centres. 

Deck  rafters,  2"  x  8",  20"  on  centres. 

Hip  and  valley  rafters,  3"  x  9",  or  3"x  12",  as  marked  on  framing 
plans. 

Trimmer  and  header  rafters  doubled  and  spiked  together. 

Ridges,  1"  x  10". 

Piazza  and  porch  girders,  4"  x  10". 

Piazza  and  porch  floor  beams,  2"  x  6",  20"  on  centres. 

Piazza,  and  porch  rafters,  2"  x  6",  20"  on  centres. 

Hips  and  valleys,  3"  x  9". 

Piazza,  and  porch  plate,  6"  x  10". 

Piazza  and  porch  posts,  8"  x  8". 

Sleepers  in  basement  to  be  of  locust.     Piazza  and  porch  posts  to 
be  of  best  well-seasoned  dry  white   pine  or  white- 
wood.     All  other  framing  timber  to  be  good  sound 
spruce,  free  from  large  knots,  waney  pieces,  and  shakes. 

The  house  is  to  be  full  frame,  all  framed,  braced,  and  pinned  in 
the  best  and  strongest  manner,  perfectly  true  and  plumb,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  framing  drawings.  No  wood- 
work is  to  be  placed  within  one  inch  of  the  outside  of 
any  chimney,  and  no  nails  to  be  driven  into  any  chimney.  The 
underside  of  sill  and  ends  of  girders  are  to  be  painted  two  heavy 
coats  of  oil  paint  before  setting  in  place.  The  basement  beams  to 
be  sized  upon  the  sleepers,  which  are  to  rest  on  the  concrete.  The 
beams  of  first-story  floor  to  be  notched  down  four  inches  on  the  sill 
and  mortised  two  inches  more  into  it,  bringing  the  bottom  of  the 
beams  flush  with  the  bottom  of  the  sill,  and  to  be  framed  with  tenon 
and  tusk  into  the  girders,  flush  at  top  and  bottom:  all  to  be  well 
spiked  to  the  sill,  and  the  tenons  secured  to  girders  with  oak  pins. 
Beams  of  second  and  third  story  floors  to  be  notched  down  four 
inches  on  the  girts,  and  spiked  to  girts  and  studs,  and  sized  one  inch 
on  partition  caps,  spiking  the  beams  strongly  together  wherever 
possible  to  form  a  tie  across  the  building.  Headers  to  be  framed 


230  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

into  trimmers  with  double  tenon  and  pinned,  and  all  headers  which 

carry  more  than  three  tail-beams  to  have  £"  joint-bolts  at  each  end 

in  addition.     Tail-beams  to  be  framed  into  headers  with  tenon  and 

tusk  and  pinned.     All  floors  to  be  brid<jfc"d  once  in  every  eight  feet 

with  a  straight,  continuous  row  of   double  herring- 

n   s  ng'     bone  cross-bridging  of  I"x4"  pieces,  cut  in  and  nailed 

with  two  nails  at  each  end  of  each  piece.    Beams  under  unsupported 

partitions  which  run  parallel  with  them  to  be  in  pairs,  set  7£"  apart 

on  centres. 

Piazza  and  porch  floor  to  be  framed  with  a  4"  x  10"  girder  from 

each  post  or  pier  to  the  house,  set  so  that  the  top  of  the  girder  is  1" 

below  the  top  of  the  sill,  and  pitching  away  from  the 

Porch^Fioor.  h°use  one  incn  iQ  every  five  feet.     Each  girder  to  be 

gained  one  inch  into  the  whole  depth  of  the  sill,  and 

to  be  secured  to  the  sill  with  £"  joint-bolt.     Into  these  girders  are  to 

be  framed  the  2"  x  6"  piazza  beams,  all  flush  on  top. 

The  finished  posts  of  piazza  and  porch  will  stand  upon  the  floor, 

with  tenon  4"  long  into  the  girder,  and  the  plates  are 

PochTltoof    '°  ^e  frame(l  iQto  them  and  pinned.     The  rafters  are 

to  be  notched  upon  the  plate  and  spiked,  and  strongly 

secured  to  house. 

Form  the  cornice  of  porch  and  piazza  as  shown  on  detail  draw- 
ings, all  of  pine,  with  planceer,  facia,  bed-mould,  anJ 
Porch  Cornice.  Sutter  all  around  as  shown,  with  leaded  joints,  two- 
inch  lead  goose-necks  and  [./bur]  three-inch  [<*n]  con- 
ductors where  directed,  properly  supported  and  entered  into  the 
drain-pipes  prepared  to  receive  them. 

The  main  roof  of  the  house  is  to  be  framed  as  shown  on  framing 

plans.     Rafters  to  be  notched  on  the  plate  and  spiked. 
Main  Roof.    ' 

Partitions  to  be  carried  up  to  support  roof  wherever 

practicable,  and  all  to  be  thoroughly  tied  and  made  perfectly  secure 
and  strong. 

Form  the  main  cornice  as  shown  in  detail  drawings,  with  3"  x  4" 

gutter  all  around,  facia,  and  planceer,  rebated  1^'belt 
Main  Cornice.9 

at  top  of  wall,  and  raking  moulding  in  the  angle :  all 

<jt  pine.     Gutter  to  have  leaded  joints  and  three-inch  lead  goose- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  231 

necks.  Put  on  [six]  four-inch  tin  conductors  where  directed,  all 
strongly  secured  and  properly  entered  into  drain-pipes  prepared  for 
them. 

Gable  finish  to  be  as  shown  on  detail  drawings,  all  of  pine,  with 
l£v  rebated  piece  at  top  of  wall,  to  show  8"  wide,  \\" 
plain  planceer  put  on  underside  of  projecting  roof- 
boards  with  f"  furring  between  and  to  show  10"  wide,  and  corona 
and  cyraatium  moulding  3|"  wide  in  all,  to  cover  ends  of  roof-boards 
anil  edge  of  planceer,  and  3"  x  3"  bed-mould  in  the  angle. 

Cover  all  the  roofs,  including  those  of  porch  and  piazza,  with  good 
hemlock  boards,  planed  one  side  to  an  even  thickness,  and  well  nailed 
to  every  rafter,  two  plies  of  pine-tarred  felt  paper, 
breaking  joint,  and  shingle  with  first  quality  16"  sawed  * 

cedar  shingles,  laid  4£"  to  the  weather,  and  nailed  with  two  galvan- 
ized nails  to  each  shingle.  Form  dormers,  etc.,  as  shown  on  draw- 
ings. Furnish  wide  counter-flashings  of  4-lb.  lead  for  the  mason  to 
build  into  .joints  of  chimneys,  shingle  in  wide  zinc  flashings  to  turn 
up  against  the  brickwork  as  high  as  the  counter-flashing  will  allow  ; 
then  turn  down  the  counter-flashing,  dress  close,  and  cement  per- 
fectly tight  against  the  brickwork.  Shingle  in  wide  zinc  flashings 
in  valleys  and  around  dormers,  and  put  on  wide  zinc  apron  to  pro- 
tect junction  of  piazza  and  porch  roofs  and  house  wall,  and  warrant 
all  tight  for  two  years  from  the  completion  of  the  building.  Make 
all  tight  under  dormer  sills  and  around  dormers. 

Make  scuttle  2'  x  2'  in  roof  where  directed  with  rebated  frame  4" 
high,  and  cover  hung  with  strong  strap  hinges,  and 
to  have  iron  bar  fastening  and  fixtures  to  keep  it  open 
at  any  desired  angle.     Frame  and  cover  to  be  tinned  and  all  war- 
ranted tight. 

Enclose  the  walls  with  good  hemlock  hoards  planed  one  side  to  an 
even  thickness,  and  two  thicknesses  of   good  felt-paper  breaking 
joint.     Shingle  the  whole  of  the  walls  above  belt  at 
second-story  floor  level  with  first  quality  16",  sawed 
cedar  shingles,  laid  6"  to  the  weather  and  nailed  with  two  common 
nails  to  each  shingle.   Where  the  shingles  come  against  door  or  win- 
dow casings  nail  only  at  the  side  next  the  casing,  with  tvee  nails* 


232  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

Under  window  sills  and  elsewhere  where  exposed  the  nails  to  be 
galvanized.  Shingles  in  gables  to  be  laid  alternately  long  and  short, 
without  selecting  for  uniform  width,  the  difference  in  length  to  be 

li".     Cut  shingles,  of  uniform  width  and  to   pattern 
Cut  Shingles.     " 

as  per  drawings,  to  be  used  in  panels  where  shown 

on  elevations. 

All  other  portions  of  the  wall  to  be  covered  with 
Clapboards. 

sap-extra  pine  clapboards,  all  laid  to  a  perfectly  even 

gauge  of  not  over  4£",  and  all  nailed  to  every  stud  with  galvanized 
nails,  set  in  for  puttying. 

Put  strips  of  zinc  3"  wide  around  all  window  and 
Zinc. 

door  casings  throughout,  running  under  casings  and 

clapboards  or  shingles. 

Form  the  belt  at  second-story  floor  level  according  to  detail  draw- 
ings by  putting  on  furrings  over  each  stud  on  top  of  the  under  board- 
ing  and  putting  a  second  boarding  outside,  brought 
to  a  feather  edge  at  the  top.     The  lowest  of  these 
boards  to  be  planed  on  the  edges  and  the  shingles  to  be  brought 
down  over.     Finish  under  the  edge  with  a  2|"  bead.     Under  the 
moulding  will  be  a  belt  1£"  thick  and  to  show  6",  with  the  bottom 
edge  rebated. 

Make  also  belt  at  level  of  window-sills  where  shown,  of  a  2 J"  cove 
and  fillet  moulding,  bevelled  on  top  to  correspond  with  the  pitch  of 
the  window-sills,  and  put  on  over  the  shingles,  which  are  to  be  gauged 
to  correspond.  Form  the  front  edge  of  these  window-sills  so  as  to 
continue  the  moulding  without  any  break. 

Form  the  base  as  shown  on  detail  drawings,  on  sides  next  to  pi- 

izza  and  porch  to  be  1^"  thick,  rebated  on  top,  and  to  show  6"  high 

above  piazza  floor,  with  small  bevel,  stopping  against 

half-posts  of  the  balustrade,  scribed  against  the  wall. 

In  other  places  the  base  will  be  formed  by  1  \"  feather-edged  piece 

standing  out  from  the  wall,  the  clapboards  to  be  brought  down  over 

«t,  and  a  If"  bead  to  run  underneath.     All  of  good,  seasoned  while 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  233 

There  will  be  corner-boards  only  in  first  story  where  clapboarded 
shingles  being  in  all  cases  brought  out  to  the  angles. 
All  corner-boards,  door  and  window  casings  to  be  1  i" 
thick,  and  of  widths  as  marked  on  drawings,  all  of 
good,  seasoned  pine,  and  the  top  edge  rebated. 

The  porch  will  stand  on  12"  x  12"  brick  piers  to  be  built  by  tlin 
mason.  Piazza  to  stand  on  red  cedar  posts,  4'  in  the  ground,  fur 
nished  and  set,  exclusive  of  excavation  and  refilling, 
by  the  carpenter.  Floors  to  be  framed  as  described 
above,  and  to  be  covered  with  f"  rift  hard-pine 
boards,  not  matched,  laid  close  joint  and  well  nailed  and  the  outer 
edges  rounded.  Finish  under  edge  of  floor  with  a  planed  board  10" 
wide,  case  the  posts  in  front  with  planed  boards,  and  fill  in  between 
them,  and  between  piers  under  porch,  with  jig-sawed  work  of  f" 
pine  boards  down  to  the  ground,  finishing  with  board,  and  with 
mouldings  broken  around  to  form  panels,  all  as  shown  on  drawings. 

Complete  the  porch  and  piazza  as  per  detail  drawings,  the  bal- 
ustrades, braces,  turned,  carved  and  ornamental  work  to  be  all  of 
good,  seasoned  white  pine ;  and  ceil  the  underside  of  roofs,  and  of 
all  projections  of  oriels,  balconies,  etc.,  with  £"  matched  and  beaded 
spruce  sheathing  not  over  4"  wide,  on  furring  strips  12"  on  centres, 
formed  into  panels  by  £"  x  4"  bevelled  strips,  planted  on.  Case 
over  the  plate  with  $"  pine  with  £"  bead  on  each  edge,  and  finish  die 
junction  of  piazza  ceiling  and  main  wall  with  2"  cove  moulding 
neatly  stopped. 

All  outside  steps  except  the  granite  lower  step  at  front  entrance 
to  have  £"  pine  risers  and  1^"  rift  hard-pine  treads  with  rounded 

nosings  returned  at  the  ends:  all  to  be  supported  on^ 

Outside  Steps. 
2"  x  12"  spruce  strings  12"  on  centres,  the  outer  strings 

to  be  planed  or  cased,  and  the  foot  of  the  strings  to  be  notched  upon 
the  granite  step  or  upon  a  4"  x  4"  piece  supported  by  two  red  cedar 
posts  4"  in  the  ground.  Enclose  under  ends  with  vertical  £"  pine 
strips,  jig-sawed  as  shown  on  drawings,  with  bevelled  base. 

Make  bulkhead   entrance  to  cellar,  with  plank  steps   on  plank 
strings,  all   planed,  and  cover  of  4"  matched    pine    Bu,khead 
boards,  battened,  hung  with  heavy  strap  hinges  bolted 


234  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

on,  in  strong  plank  frame,  and  all  made  tight,  and  furnished  with 
strong  bar  fastening. 

All  other  outside  finish  is  to  be  of  good,-thoroughly  seasoned  white 
pine  in  strict  accordance  with  elevations  and  detail 
drawings,  and  all  leaded  where  necessary  to  make  it 
weather-tight.  Project  beams  for  bays,  oriels,  etc  , 

and  do  all  furring  and  other  work  for  completing  the  wh'ole   in  the 

Dvdt  and  strongest  manner. 

The  carpenter  must  call  upon  the  painter  to  prime 
Priming.     aj|  exterjor  finish  before  putting  up  or  immediately 
afterwards,  and  is  to  replace  all  work  warped  or  cracked. 

The  Hall,  Laundry  and  Water-Closet  in  basement  will  have  single 

floor  of  first  quality  f"  rift  hard  pine,  square  joint,  not  over  6"  wide. 

All  other   floors   throughout  the  building  are  to  be 

Flooring.      Double,  the  un{^er  fl°or  to  De  of  good  hemlock  boards, 

planed  one  side  to  an  even  thickness,  well  nailed,  and 

two  plies  of  good  felt  paper  to  be  laid  between  all  upper  and  under 

floors.    Under  flooring  in  Hall,  Parlor  and  Bath-room  to  be  not  over 

3"  wide;  in  Kitchen,  not  over  6"  wide;  elsewhere  to  be  any  width. 

The  Kitchen,  Back  Vestibule,  Store-room  and  Butler's  Pantry  on 
first  story,  and  Back  Hall  in  first,  second  and  third  stories  to  have 

upper  floor  of  first  quality  rift  hard  pine,  not  over  6" 
Roots.  wide,  matched  and  blind-nailed.  The  main  Hall  on 

first  story  to  have  upper  floor  of  first  quality  se- 
lected quartered  |"  oak,  2£"  wide,  matched,  laid  in  herring-bone  pat- 
tern, as  per  detail  drawing,  and  blind-nailed.  The  Parlor  is  to  have 
upper  floor  of  £"  second  quality  white  pine,  not  over  6"  wide,  matched, 
but  not  blind-nailed,  with  border  of  [Dill's]  parquetry,  20"  wide, 
in  maple  and  cherry,  of  pattern  No.  [twenty-six]  all  laid  in  the  best 
manner  and  warranted  not  to  shrink.  The  Bath-room  in  second 
story  is  to  have  upper  floor  of  alternate  strips  of  maple  and  black 
walnut,  not  over  4"  wide,  matched  and  blind-nailed. 

All  other  rooms  and  closets  throughout  the  building  to  have  upper 
floor  of  f"  second  quality  pine,  matched  but  not  blind-nailed,  not 
over  6"  wide  in  first  story  and  second  story  chambers ;  not  over  9' 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  235 

wide  elsewhere.     Make  mitred  borders  to  all  hearths,  registers,  and 
etaircase  openings. 

Ail  under  floors  to  be  thoroughly  repaired  and  cleaned  before 
oors  are  laid. 


All  hard-wood  flooring  to  be  of  the  very  best  selected  perfectly 
seasoned  stock,  and  all  upper  floors  to  be  kiln-dried,  laid  breaking 
jorit  in  every  course,  well  strained  and  nailed  to  every  beam  with 
twelve-pennies,  and  all  neatly  smoothed  off  by  hand  and  scrubbed 
out  at  the  completion  of  the  building. 

Put  on  grounds  for  £"  plastering  in  first  story  and  f"  elsewhere, 
and  put  on  all  angle-beads.  Cross-fur  all  ceilings,  including  basement 
ceiling,  with  1"  x  2"  strips,  12"  on  centres.  Cross-fur 
rafters  in  finished  attic  rooms  diagonally,  with  strips 
12"  on  centres;  fur  out  attic  outside  walls  with  stud- 
ding to  give  4'  vertical  height,  and  fur  down  attic  ceiling  to  9'  clear 
height.  Set  the  grounds  for  vertical  sheathing  4'  high  in  Laundry, 
Kitchen  and  Bath-room  ;  for  panelled  wainscot  3'  high  in  first  and 
second  story  Hall  and  Vestibule,  and  stairs  from  first  to  second  story, 
and  for  bases  elsewhere  of  heights  as  specified. 

Fur  chimney-breasts  with  2"  x  4"  studding  set  flatways,  to  be 
everywhere  1"  clear  away  from  the  brickwork  ;  and  fur  outside 
stone  walls  of  Laundry  in  basement  with  2"  x  4"  studs  set  flatways. 
Fur  for  beams,  arches,  etc.,  as  required.  All  furrings,  grounds  and 
angle-beads  to  be  perfectly  strong,  true  and  plumb. 

Set  all  partitions  with  2"  x  4"  studs  16"  on  centres,  try  with  a 
straight-edge,  and  straighten  and  bridge  before  plastering.    All  par- 
titions except  those  that  stand  over  each  other  to 
stand  on  a  2"  x  5£"  piece,  and  all  partitions  to  have 
8"  x  4"  cap.     Where  a  partition  stands  over  another,  the  studs  of 
the  upper  partition  must  stand  on  the  cap  of  the  partition  below  — 
not  on  the  floor  nor  on  the  beams.     Truss  over  all  openings  in  parti- 
tions which  extend  through  more  than  one  story,  or  carry  beams; 
and  strongly  truss  all  partitions  not  supported  from  below,  to  take 
the  weight  off  the  middle  of  the  beams. 

Bridge  all  partitions  in  first  and  second  stories  with 
two  rows  of  angular  bridging  of  2"  x  4"  pieces  cut  in 


236  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

and  nailed  with  two  nails  at  each  end  of  each  piece.  Reverse  the 
direction  of  the  bridging  pieces  in  each  row.  Line  the  pockets  for 
sliding  doors  with  planed  boards. 

Fill  in  with  saw-dust  'or  planing-inill  chips  between 

beams  around  all  water  supply  pipes  which  run  in  the 

floors,  making  all  tight. 

INTERIOR    FINISH. 

All  the  stock  for  interior  finish  of  every  kind  is  to  be  of  the  very 
best  quality,  thoroughly  seasoned  and  of  selected  grain,  and  well 
smoothed,  sand-papered  and  kiln-dried  before  putting 
up.  Ash  to  be  best  Indiana  calico  figure,  and  white- 
wood  to  be  free  from  white  sap.  The  Laundry,  Kitchen,  and  Back 
Halls  throughout,  including  back  stairs,  are  to  be  finished  in  hard 
pine,  excepting  doors,  which  are  to  be  of  whitewood;  the  Front  Hall 
and  Vestibule  in  first  story  to  be  finished  in  quartered  oak,  except 
stairs  to  second  story,  which  are  to  be  cherry.  The  Parlor  is  to  be 
finished  in  maple  and  the  Dining-room  in  ash.  The  Bath-room  in 
second  story  is  to-be  finished  in  black  walnut  and  maple.  All  other 
rooms  and  closets  in  first  and  second  stories  to  be  finished  in  white- 
wood.  The  hall  and  large  front  room  in  attic  are  to  be  finished  in 
white  pine  for  varnishing.  All  other  rooms  and  closets  in  attic  are 
to  be  finished  in  pine  to  paint. 

Make  panelled  partitions  under  front  stairs  as  per 
Partitions.    detail  drawings,  the  framing  to  be  1£"  thick,  moulded, 
with  raised  panel  £"  thick,  all  bead  and  flush  on  back, 
all  of  quartered  oak. 

Front  Hall  and  Vestibule  in  first  story,  stairs  from  first  to  second 
story,  and  second-story  hall,  to  have  panelled  wainscot  3'  high,  ac- 
cording to  detail  drawings,  with   framing  £"  thick, 
moulded,  and  raised  panels  |"  thick,  and  moulded  cap, 
bat  no  base.     To  be  of  quartered  oak  in  first-story  Hall,  cherry  on 
stairs,  and  whitewood  in  second  story. 

The  Laundry  in  basement  and  Kitchen  in  first  story  are  to  be 

sheathed  4'  high  with  £"  matched  and  beaded  vertical  strips  of  hard 

pine,  not  over  4"  wide,  without  base,  but  with  neat 

bevelled  cap.     The  Bath-room  in  second  story  is  to 

have  |"  matched  and  beaded  vertical  sheathing,  4'  high,  of  alternate 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  237 

strips  of  black  walnut  and  maple,  4"  wide,  with  neat  bevelled  cap 
of  black  walnut  and  $"  bevelled  black-walnut  base,  4"  high.  Plough 
the  sheathing  into  cap  of  bath-tub. 

The  Parlor  and  Dining-room  are  to  have  moulded  base,  f"  x  10", 
according  to  detail  drawings,  to  be  of  maple  in  Parlor,  and  ash  in 
Dining-room.     All  second-story  rooms  except  Bath- 
room to  have  $"  x  10''  bevelled  base  of  whitewood. 
All  other  rooms  and  closets  to  have  $"  x  8"   plain  board  base,  of 
hard  pine  in  back  halls  and  back  stairs  throughout ;  whitewood  in 
remaining  parts  of  basement,  first  and  second  stories ;  pine  to  var- 
nish in  attic  hall  and  large  front  room,  and  pine  to  paint  in  other 
rooms  and  closets  in  attic. 

Plough  all  bases  together  at  the  angles  and  put  them  on  before 
the  upper  floor  is  laid,  and  allow  $"  extra  below  top  of  floor. 

All  doors  and  windows  in  first-story  Hall  and  Vestibule,  Parlor  ana 
Dining-room,  and  hall  and  all  chambers  in  second  story,  to  have  l£"x 

4"  architraves,  moulded  as  per  detail  drawings.     To 

i         «•  i    .     TT   ,1  ,     ^.     ,  Architraves. 

be  of  quartered  oak  in  Hall,  maple  in  Parlor,  ash  in 

Dining-room,  and  whitewood  in  second-story  hall  and  chambers.  All 
other  doors  and  windows  to  have  £"  x  4"  plain  square  board  archi- 
traves, of  black  walnut  in  Bath-room,  and  elsewhere  of  wood  to  corre- 
spond with  finish  of  room. 

The  architraves  of  doors  and  windows  in  Parlor,  Hall  and  Dining 

room  will  have  corner  blocks  with   carved  rosettes 

,..,.,,  ti      i  ,    Plinth-blocks 

according  to  detail  drawings ;  all  others  to  be  mitred,  and  Corner- 
All  moulded  door-architraves   throughout  will   have        blocks. 
plain  plinth-blocks.     Architraves  in  Parlor,  first-story  Hall,  Vesti 
bule,  Kitchen,  Laundry  and  back  halls  to  be  carried  to  floor ;  else 
where  to  be  cut  ^"  short,  to  allow  for  carpet. 

All  stool-caps  to  be  $"  thick,  with  round  edges,  of  wood  to  corro 

spond  with  the  finish  of  the  several  rooms ;  and  in 

, ,    _-_   .  ,  Stool-caps. 

rooms  with  moulded  finish  to  have  moulding  and  be 

according  to  detail  drawings;  elsewhere  to  have  bevelled  board  4'' 
wide  under. 

Brad  all  architraves,  bases  and  other  moulded  work  in  the  quirks 
of  the  mouldings,  and  set  in  all  finish-nails  for  puttying.     .No  spiic- 


238  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

ing  of  any  architrave  will  be  allowed,  and  joints  of  bases  must  be 
carefully  matched. 

Front  and  kitchen  outside  doors  t0*"be  made  of  pine  according  to 

detail  drawings,  the  front  door  to  be  2£"  thick,  moulded  both  sides, 

Doors         W^J  Pane^s  raised  an(l  carved  outside  only  as  shown ; 

the  kitchen  door  to  be  2"  thick,  moulded  both  sides, 

with  plain  panels  raised  one  side  only. 

All  doors  in  first-story  Hall,  Parlor  and  Dining-room,  including 
each  leaf  of  double  doors,  to  be  If"  thick,  8'  high,  8-panelled  according 
I  Id  D  r  to  ^eta^  Drawings,  with  flush  mouldings  and  raised  pan- 
els  both  sides.  All  to  have  thoroughly  seasoned  pine 
cores,  veneered  with  quartered  oak  in  Hall  and  Vestibule,  maple  in 
Parlor  and  ash  in  Dining-room.  Doors  opening  between  rooms  fin- 
ished in  hard  wood  are  to  be  veneered  to  correspond  with  the  rooms; 
but  doors  opening  from  rooms  finished  in  hard  wood  into  closets  or 
inferior  rooms  are  to  be  veneered  both  sides  with  the  hard  wood. 
Doors  from  Hall  to  Vestibule  to  be  similar  to  other  doors  in  Hull 
except  that  the  four  upper  panels  are  to  be  filled  with  stained  glass  in 
lead  work,  to  be  selected  by  the  owner,  but  paid  for  and  set  by  the 
carpenter,  and  to  cost  $2.00  per  square  foot,  exclusive  of  setting. 
All  other  inside  doors  throughout  the  house  to  be  1£"  thick,  of  solid 
whitewood.  To  be  T  6"  high  throughout  second  story,  7'  high  in 
Attic,  Kitchen  and  Basement.  Second-story  doors  to  be  5-panelled 
according  to  detail  drawings,  with  flush  mouldings  and  raised  bev- 
elled panels  both  sides.  Attic,  Kitchen  and  Basement  doors,  except 
sash-doors,  to  be  4-panelled  square  witu  raised  panels  both  aides. 

hd  The  door  from  Laundry  to  Basement  hall  way  will 

have  sash  in  upper  part,  in  6  lights,  glazed  with  best 
£"  ribbed  plate  glass ;  the  glass  and  glazing  to  be  furnished  by  the 
carpenter. 

All  doors  to  have   If"  rebated   and  beaded   frames   of  wood  to 
correspond  with  the  finish  of  the  room,  and  all  to  have  |"  hard- 
pine  thresholds.     Veneer   frames  where  necessary  to  show  differ- 
ent  wood  on  each  side.     Sliding  doors  between  Par- 
lor   and  Hall   to   have  astragal  and   hollow   on  the 
meeting-styles.     Double  front  outside  doors  to  meet  with  the  ordi- 


,     BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  239 

nary  bevel,  but  to  have  half  of  a  turned  colonnette  planted  on  one 
leaf  to  protect  the  joint.  Vestibule  doors  and  double  doors  between 
Dining-room  and  Hall  to  meet  with  ordinary  bevel,  and  moulding 
over  joint. 

The  carpenter  is  to  furnish  all  window  frames  and  sashes,  and  is 
to  deliver  the  sashes  and  sash  doors,  excepting  those  which  he  is 

himself  to  furnish  ready  glazed,  to  the  contractor  for 

.     .  T     .  ,   ,    .         ,  ,         Windows.  . 

painting  and  glazing,  and  bring  them  back   to   the 

building  when  completed ;  and  is  also  to  deliver  all  frames  for  cellar 
windows  and  doors  when  required  by  the  mason  for  building  into 
the  walls. 

All  windows  in  Basement  except  in  Laundry  are  to  have  If"  re 
bated  pine  frames  and  2f"  sills,  and  1J"  pine  sashes  hinged  at  the 
top,  with  galvanized  hooks  and  staples  to  keep  them 
open,  and  strong  japanned   iron  button   fastenings;        ceHa' 
and  to  have  heavy  galvanized  wire  netting  with  f" 
mesh  nailed  securely  on  outside  of  frame.     Make  frame  only  for 
cold-air  box  openings,  covered  with  galvanized  netting  in  the  same 
manner. 

The  small  windows  in  Laundry  Closet  in  Basement  and  in  Coat- 
closet,  Pantry,  and   China-closet   in   first   story,  are 
to  have  rebated  plank  frames  and  1£"  pine  sashes, 
screwed  in  tight. 

All  other  windows  throughout  the  building  are  to  have  boxed 
frames  with  pockets,  2"  sills  pitching  1£",  and  ploughed  for  shingles 
or  clapboards  as  required,  all  of  pine  except  beads 
and  pulley-styles,  which  are  to  be  of  hard  pine;  and  Double  Hun« 
1  £"  clear  pine  sashes  in  lights  as  shown,  with  moulded 
sash-bars  and  counter-checked  meeting  rails,  all  to  be  double  hung 
with  best  steel-axle  capped  brass-faced  pulleys,  and  best  shoe-thread 
sash-line  and  best   iron  weights,  and  well  balanced. 

Inside  beads  to  be  of  hard  pine  throughout,  and  all  put  on  with 
round-headed  blued  screws.  Frames  in  rooms  finished  with  hard 
wood  to  have  a  strip  of  corresponding  wood  veneered  on  the  inner 
edge  of  the  frame. 

Make  and  put  up  dresser  in  Kitchen  as  per  drawings,  all  of  hard 

<^^^ 


210  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

pine.  To  be  5'  wide  and  8'  high,  including  neat  cornice,  with  two 
cupboards  under  with  shelf  in  each,  and  four  shelves 
above,  enclosed  by  $"  sash  doors  to  slide  past  each 

other  on  metal  tracks,  with  Sheaves  complete;  all  to  be  furnished 

ready  glazed  with  first  quality  sheet-glass  by  the  carpenter  and  fitted 

up  in  perfect  order. 

Fit  up  the  China-closet  as  shown  on  drawings  or  as  directed  by 
th'e  owner,  with   stand   for   sink   and   cupboard   under,  and   four 

drawers  each  side ;  large  cupboard  with  two  shelves ; 
ChinaCloset.    .  . 

six    glass    shelves  6    wide  on  one   side,  with   open 

fronts,  but  to  have  brackets  and  neat  fancy  turned  standards ;  and 
five  shelves  on  the  other  side,  14"  wide  and  enclosed  with  |"  sash 
doors  in  front  to  slide  past  each  other  on  metal  tracks,  all  to  be  fur- 
nished glazed  with  first  quality  glass  and  fitted  up  with  sheaves 
complete  by  the  carpenter.  All  the  work  in  China-closet  to  be  of 
whitewood.  Fit  up  slide  in  partition  with  porcelain  pull  to  run 
sideways. 

Fit  up  Pantry  with  three  barrel-cupboards,  with 
neat  panelled  doors  and  lifting  covers,  one  case  of  three 
drawers,  and  four  shelves  running  all  around.     All  of  whitewood. 

Fit  up  Coat-closet  in  whitewood,  with  one  case  of  four  drawers,  a 
c      -Cl          s*loe  rack  w^k  eight  compartments,  each  8"  square, 
and  two  rows  of  hooks. 

Make  stand  for  wash-bowl  in  Bath-room,  with  cupboard  under, 
and  panelled  door,  and  four  drawers  each  side,  all  of  black  walnut. 

_     .  Case  the  bath-tub  with  black  walnut  in  one  long  panel 

Rath-Room.  .  ' 

on  each  exposed  side  with  cap  of  the  same.     Case  the 

cistern  in  the  same  way,  finishing  the  angles  with  a  neat  quarter- 
round.  Fit  up  water-closet  with  seat,  8"  bevelled  wall-strips  and  flap 
only,  strongly  supported,  both  seat  and  flap  to  be  hung  with  nickel- 
piated  brass  hinges  and  screws :  all  to  be  of  black  walnut.  Put  black- 
walnut  strip  and  hooks  on  one  side  of  the  room  only. 

Basement  water-closet  to  be  fitted  with  whitewood 
a  se  merit    jn  ^     same  manner  above  specified  for  the  one  in 
Water-Closet.  , 

bath-room,  and  cistern  to  be  cased  with  whitewood 

panelling.     Put  whitewood  lining  all  around  above  seat,  15"  high. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  241 

Make  stands  for  other  wash-bowls  shown  on  plans 
$  above  specified  for  the  one  in  bath-rooi 
to  be  of  whitewood  instead  of  black  walnut. 


.      ,  .,   Other  Wash- 

as  above  specified  for  the  one  in  bath-room,  but  all        bowls. 


Fit  up  all  closets  not  specially  described  above  as  marked  on  plans 

or  as  directed  by  the  owner.     All  closets  in  second 

•  Other  Closets. 

story  more  than  18     deep,  and  two  closets  in  attic, 

are  to  have,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  a  case  of  three  drawers, 
with  three  shelves  over,  and  two  rows  of  hooks.  The  remaining 
closets  to  have  two  rows  of  hooks,  and  one  shelf  above.  All  drawers 
to  have  neat  panelled  or  moulded  fronts,  and  to  run  on  hard-wood 
centre  strips. 

Make  tank  in  attic  where  directed,  4'  long,  2'  wide,  and  4'  deep 
inside,  of  If"  planed  pine  plank,  with  splined  joints, 
to  be  lined  by  the  plumber.     Make  cover  to  the  same 
of  matched  and  beaded  pine  sheathing,  battened  on  the  under  side, 
with  rounded  edges,  and  hasp  and  padlock  fastening. 

Make  strong  frame  to  support  soapstone  sink   in  Kitchen  and 
wash-trays  in  Laundry,  with  2f"  ornamental  turned  legs,  and  put 

grooved  draining-shelf  over  sink,  and  neat  covers  to 

11     f      i  .  •      «k      •       *    i  ,.  Kitchen  Sink, 

wash-trays,  all  of  whitewood.     Put  beaded  strips  of          etc. 

whitewood  on  walls  and  ceilings  of  Kitchen  and  Laundry,  and  black 
walnut  in  Bath-room,  for  pipes  to  run  on,  and  case  over  such  pipes 
as  may  be  directed  with  neat  casings  of  wood  suited  to  the  rooms, 
screwed  on  with  brass  screws. 

Provide  and  hang  first  quality  1£"  outside  blinds  to  all  windows, 
divided  and  hinged  with  care  so  as  to  fold  back  neatly  and  without 
interfering.     All  to  have  rolling  slats  in  the  lower 
half  only.     Divided  blinds,  and  those  of  fixed  win- 
dows, to  be  hung  with  wrought-iron  L-hinges;  all  others  to  be  fitted 
complete  with  patent  Automatic  blind-awning  fixtures,  and  all  10 
have  Washbtirn's  patent  ring  fasts,  except  those  for  fixed  windows, 
which  are  to  have  Shedd's  patent  wire  fasts,  so  that  they  can  be 
opened  from  the  outside. 

Furnish  mosquito  guards  to  all  outside  doors  and  windows.   Those 
for  the  windows  to  slide  outside  the  sashes  on  beads  put  up  for  the 


242  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

purpose.  Those  for  the  doors  to  be  hung  on  the 
a^y^  °  outside,  with  springs  to  keep  them  closed,  and  brass 

hook  and  staple  fastening.  All  to  be  made  in  the 
best  manner  with  frames  of  clear  seasoned  pine,  f"  thick,  covered 
with  suitable  wire  netting,  and  all  to  be  stained,  varnished,  fitted, 
and  marked  complete  by  the  carpenter,  and  neatly  stored  in  a 

convenient  place  in  the  attic. 

• 

Furnish  outside  sashes  to  all  exterior  windows,  to  be  of  clear  sea- 
soned pine,  1£"  thick,  glazed  with  first  quality  double-thick  glass,  in 
lights  to  correspond  with  inner  sash,  packed  with  listing  around  the 
edges,  and  arranged  to  be  secured  by  round-headed 

Windows,  screws  from  the  inside  to  small  permanent  brass 
plates  set  in  flush  with  the  outside  of  the  casing  and 
firmly  screwed  to  it.  Six  plates  and  screws  are  to  be  provided  for 
each  window,  and  for  convenience  in  fixing  projecting  screws  are  to 
be  set  in  the  outside  sash,  by  which  it  can  be  hung  from  the  edge  of 
the  upper  plates  while  the  other  screws  are  adjusted.  All  to  be 
made  in  the  best  manner,  glazed,  painted  three  coats,  fitted  and 
marked  complete  by  the  carpenter,  and  safely  stored  in  a  convenient 
place  in  basement. 

The  carpenter  is  to  set  all  mantels  in  the  best  manner,  and  case 
over   for    protection   until   the    house  is    delivered, 
MantTls.      removing   the   casing   only   for   painters'  work,  and 
replacing  afterwards. 

The  carpenter  is  to  make  mantels  to  all  fireplaces,  and  also  shelves 

with  brackets  in  chambers  which  have  no  fireplaces, 
Mantels. 

in  the  best  manner,  in  strict  accordance  with  detail 

drawings  and  the  directions  accompanying  them.  To  be  of  first 
quality  thoroughly  seasoned  stock  to  match  the  finish  of  the  rooms, 
and  all  well  bolted  and  dowelled  together. 

Make  strong  step-ladder  of  planed  spruce  to  scuttle 
"  in  roof :  to  be  movable. 

Fit  up  shelf  along  one  side  of  Laundry  and  Kitchen,  4£  feet  above 

floor,  strongly  supported,  and  put  one  row  of  hooks  on  beaded  strip 

under  the  same.     Put  up  also  neat  roller  for  towel  in 

Kitchen,  and  hook  strip  over  sink,  and  put  20  feet  run 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  245 

of  shelving  in  furnace-cellar  in  the  most  suitable  place,  and  three 
shelves  for  batteries  and  gas-meter  where  directed  by  the  electrician, 
bell-hanger,  and  gas-fitter,  and  swing  shelf  where  directed. 

Make  in  a  suitable  place  a  strong  double  box  of  1±"  matched  and 
beaded  pine,  to  contain  ash  and  garbage  barrels,  with 
division  between.     Each  part  to  have  battened  door  b!g«f  Boxes? 
in  front,  with  good  lock  and  two  keys,  for  removing 
barrels,  and  lifting  cover  on  top,  hung  with  brass  butts,  and  with 
brass  hook  and  staple  fastening. 

Put  base-knobs  with  inserted  rubber  to  all  doors,  of  ^ 

.         .  Base  Knobs. 

wood  to  match  finish  of  room. 

Fit  up  strong  flap-table  in  Kitchen  and  one  in  Laun- 
dry,  of  pine. 

Make  two  good  coal-bins  in  cellar  as  directed,  to 
hold  ten  tons  each. 

Build  temporary  .privy  for  the  workmen,  to  be  cleared 
away  and  the  place  cleaned  out,  filled  up,  and  graded 
over  at  the  completion  of  the  house. 

Cut  the  floors  for  registers  and  hearths  as  may  be  requisite,  and 
fit  borders  neatly  around,   and  cut  as  required  for 
plumbers,  gas-fitters,  and  other  workmen,  repairing        neous. 
neatly  afterwards.     Assist  other  workmen  employed 
in  the  building,  furnish  centres,  patterns  for  bays,  lintels,  and  rougb 
furring  as  much  as  may  be  needed. 


HARDWARE. 

THE  sliding-doors  between  Parlor  and  Hall  are  to  be  hung  in  th» 
best  manner  with  Prescott's  patent  balance  hangers 
complete;    to  have  Russell  &  Erwin's   solid   bronze     Furnfttire?' 
sunk  handles,  pattern  No.  332,  dark  finish,  and  bronze 
astragal-face   sliding-door  locks  and  pulls  of  the  same  make,  pat 
tern  No.  333. 


244  BUILDING  SCTERXSTEXDENCE. 

The  front  outside  double  doors  are  to  be  hung  with  6"  x  6"  Rus- 

_  sell  &  Er win's  fancy  solid  bronze  dark  6nish  acorn 

Butts, 

loose-pin  butts  of  pattern  No.  15,  three  to  each  leaf, 

with  steel  bushings  and  steel  washers.    > 

All  other  doors  in  first-story  Hall,  Vestibule,  Parlor  and  Dining- 
room  are  to  be  hung  with  5"  x  5"  bronze  acorn  steel-washer 
japanned  loose-joint  butts,  three  to  each  door  or  leaf  of  double 
doors. 

All  other  doors  throughout  the  building  are  to  be  hung  with  4"  x 
4"  japanned  loose-joint  acorn  butts  with  steel  washers,  two  butts  to 
each  door. 

The  front  door  is  to  have  Enoch  Robinson's  patent  front-door 
mortise   lever-lock,  with   brass  or  bronze   face   and 
striking-plate  and  night-latch,  with  one  key  to  the 
large  lock  and  four  to  the  night-latch. 

All  other  doors  throughout  the  building  to  have  Russell  &  Erwin's, 
Corbin's,  or  Nashua  Lock  Co.'s  5-inch  mortise-locks,  with  brass  face 
and  striking-plate,  brass  bolts,  and  German-silver  or  plated  keys ;  no 
two  keys  in  the  house  to  be  alike.  The  outside  kitchen  door  is  to 
have  in  addition  a  Yale  rim  night-latch,  with  two  keys. 

The  front  outside  door  is  to  have  Russell  &  Erwin's  fancy  solid 
bronze  dark  finish  2^-inch  knobs,  pattern  No.  923,  on  both  sides  of 
one  leaf  only.   Doors  in  basement,  kitchen  and  attic  to 
have  2^-inch  best  lava  knobs  with  bronze  roses  and 
escutcheons.     All  other  doors  throughout  the  building  to  have  Rus- 
sell &  Erwin's  2^-inch  fancy  solid  bronze  dark-finish  knobs,  pattern 
No.  933.     Double  doors  to  have  knobs  on  one  leaf  only. 

The  carpenter  is  to  furnish  bell-pulls  to  front  and 
Bell-Pulls.   .  .    , 

kitchen  outside  doors,  to  correspond  with  the  door- 
knobs. 

The  outside  front  and  vestibule  doors,  and  double  doors  between 

first-story  Hall  and  Dining-room,  are  to  have  bronze-metal  flush-bolt 

at  top  and  bottom  of  the  leaf  which  has  no  lock,  and 

front  outside  and  vestibule  doors  will  have  in  addition 

a  strong  solid  bronze  chain  bolt.     The  kitchen  outside  door,  door  at 

head  of  basement  stairs,  door  of  basement  water-closet,  and  doors 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  245 

of  bath-room  and  all  chambers  in  second  story,  to  have  Ives's  patent 
mortise-bolts  with  bronze  roses  and  bronze  keys. 

All  cupboard  doors  to  be  hung  with  brass  butts  and 
to  have  brass  slip-latches.  L  oors. 

Drawers  of  wash-bowl  stands  to  have  handsome 
brass  drop-handles.  All  other  drawers  to  have  plain 
japanned  iron  pulls. 

All  double-hung  windows  to  have   Morris's   patent   self-locking 
sash -fasts,  to  be  of  solid  bronze  in  first-story  Hall, 
Vestibule,  Parlor,  and  Dining-room ;  bronzed  iron  with 
plated  drops  elsewhere,  and  two  pulls  on  lower  sash  to  correspond. 

Put  heavy  triple  hooks  of  japanned  cast-iron  in  closets  and  other 
places  specified :  to  be  in  two  rows  unless  otherwise  expressly 
directed,  and  to  be  8"  apart  in  each  row;  those  in 

i  i  i  •  -i  11         <•      t  HOOKS* 

the  upper  row  to  be  set  over  the  middle  of  the  spaces 
between  those  in  the  lower  row. 

All  brass  hardware  to  be  put  on  with  brass  screws,  plated  with 
plated  screws,  bronze  or  bronzed  with  bronze  screws, 
and  japanned  with  blued  screws. 


STAIRS. 

[This  is  very  commonly  made  a  separate  contract,  and  in  that  case  the 
General  Conditions  should  precede.} 

The  front  stairs  from  first  to  second  story  are  to  have,  open  string, 
moulded  nosings  returned  at  the  ends  and  carried  around  well-room, 
$-inch  risers  and  treads,  housed  into  the  wainscot  on 
the  wall  side,  the  treads  ploughed  into  the  risers,  and 
risers  ploughed  into  underside  of  treads;  If-inch  fancy  turned  balus. 
ters,  two  to  a  tread  and  around  well-rooms  in  the  same  proportion, 
all  dovetailed  at  the  foot  and  tenoned  into  underside  of  rail ;  2f"  x 
3£"  double  moulded  hand-rail ;  4"  x  4"  solid  turned,  chamfered  and 
fluted  posts  at  angles,  with  half-post  at  upper  termination  of  rail, 
and  5"  x  5"  fluted  and  carved  boxed  post  at  foot :  all  to  bo  strictly 


246  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

in  accordance  with  detail  drawings.  The  posts  and  rail  are  to  be  of 
best  Spanish  mahogany,  all  the  rest  to  be  of  cherry.  Outside  string 
on  stairs,  and  face-board  around  well-room,  to  have  moulding  to 
cover  joint  with  plaster. 

The  back  stairs  from  first  story  to  attic  are  to  have  open  string, 
rounded  nosings  returned  at  the  ends  and  carried  around  well-rooms ; 

1-inch   risers  and  treads,  the  treads  ploughed  into 
Backstairs.  J  ,       i     ,  • 

risers,  and  risers  ploughed  into  underside  of  treads, 

and  both  treads  and  risers  to  be  ploughed  for  the  base  on  the  wall 
side;  1^-inch  plain  round  balusters,  two  to  a  tread  and  around  well- 
rooms  in  the  same  proportion,  and  mortised  at  top  and  bottom ;  2'' 
x  2£"  plain  moulded  hand-rail,  and  3f"  x  3f"  solid  turned  and  cham- 
fered post  at  each  angle  and  at  foot,  with  half  post  at  upper  end  of 
rail :  all  to  be  according  to  detail  drawings,  of  hard  pine  through- 
out. 

The  stairs  to  cellar  are  to  go  down  under  the  front  stairs;  to 
have  f-inch  risers  and  treads  with  rounded  nosings,  ploughed  for 

base:  14-inch  plain  round  balusters,  two  to  a  tread, 
Cellar  Stairs.  '     *.        .  *  . '        ,      ..  ' 

and  mortised  into  treads  and  underside  of  rail,  and  2 

x  2f "  plain  round  hand-rail :  all  to  be  of  hard  pine. 

All  stairs  are  to  be  framed  and  supported  in  the  best  and  strong- 
est manner,  on  2"  x  12"  spruce  strings  12"  on  centres :  all  to  be  thor- 
oughly wedged,  blocked  and  glued  in  the  best  manner,  and  left  clean 
and  perfect.  The  stair-builder  is  to  put  on  all  the  face-boards  and 
nosings  around  well-rooms,  and  is  to  furnish  and  put  on  plain  square 
hard-pine  base  on  wall  side  of  back  stairs  and  cellar  stairs,  ploughed 
into  treads  and  risers,  and  is  to  do  all  the  work  of  housing  the  front 
stairs  into  the  wainscot. 


BELLS. 

[This  is  often  included  in  the  carpenter's  contract.  If  it  is  separated  thi 
General  Conditions  should  precede  the  Specification.  If  electric  gas- 
lighting  is  introduced  (see  specification  below)  the  bells  may  be  included 
in  the  contract  with  it.] 

Put  in  electric  bells  as  follows,  with  annunciator  in  kitchen,  bat- 
tery, insulated  copper  wires,  push-buttons  to  match  finish  of  rooms, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  247 

and  bells  of  five  different  tones,  all  put  up  in  the  best  manner  and 
warranted  for  three  years  : 

Bell  from  front  door  to  ring  in  Kitchen  and  in  Attic  hall. 

Bell  from  Kitchen  outside  door  to  ring  in  Kitchen. 

Foot-bell  from  Dining-room  to  ring  in  Kitchen. 

Bell  from  Parlor  to  ring  in  Kitchen. 

Bell  from  second-story  Hall  to  ring  in  Kitchen. 

Bell  from  second-story  Hall  to  ring  in  Attic  Hall. 

The  pulls  for  the  outside  front  and  Kitchen  doors  only  will  be  fur 
.nished  by  the  carpenter. 

All  wires  to  be  run  behind  the  plastering. 


ELECTRIC  GAS-LIGHTING. 

[The  General  Conditions  should  precede  the  Specification  unless  this  U 
joined  with  some  other  contract.] 

Wire  all  the  gas  outlets  in  the  building  with  the  best  insulated 
copper  wire,  all  concealed  behind  the  plastering.  The  drop-light 
in  first-story  Hall  is  to  be  wired  for  automatic  burner,  to  light  from 
wall  of  Hall  near  door  to  Vestibule,  and  also  from  east  wall  of 
chamber  over  Dining-room,  just  under  the  bracket  outlet.  The 
bracket  at  foot  of  cellar  stairs  is  to  be  wired  for  automatic  burner, 
to  light  from  wall  at  head  of  stairs.  All  other  outlets  are  to  be 
wired  for  pull-burners. 

When  directed,  after  the  fixtures  are  in  place,  put  automatic 
burners  on  first-story  Hall  lantern  and  on  bracket  at  foot  of  cellar 
stairs,  with  buttons  as  above  specified ;  and  put  four  pull-burners  on 
Dining-room  chandelier,  six  on  Parlor  chandelier,  four  on  brackets 
m  Parlor,  three  in  each  of  three  principal  chambers  in  second  story, 
of  which  two  will  be  on  the  mirror  light,  and  one  on  bracket  as 
directed ;  one  on  second-story  Hall  bracket,  and  one  on  bracket  in 
Bath-room.  All  to  be  of  the  best  pattern,  perfectly  tight  against 
any  escape  of  gas ;  all  fitted  up  in  the  best  manner,  with  battery- 
complete,  and  to  be  kept  in  good  order  free  of  expense  for  two 
/ears. 


248  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


PAINTING  AND  GLAZING. 

[If  thif  is  made  a  separate  contract  the  General  Conditions  should  pre- 
cede the  Specification.] 

Oil  hard-nine  piazza  and  porch  floors  and  treads  of 
Outside. 

steps  two  coats.  j^  r 

Stain  sheathing  under  piazza  and  porch  roofs  with 
Stain. 

one  coat  of  light  oil  of  creosote. 

Paint  all   roofs   one   coat  of  pure  Venetian  red  in 
oil,  finishing  with  a  second  coat  of  pure  Indian  red. 

Paint  all  other  outside  wood  and  metal  work  two  coats,  of  three 
tints  as  directed :  the  first  story  to  be  one  shade,  the  second  story 
another,  and  the  doors  and  trimmings  a  third.  Paint  also  the 
mouldings  on  belts,  etc.,  where  directed,  in  Venetian  red. 

Paint  the  blinds  three  coats  of  color  as  directed. 

Paint  sashes  three  coats  of  color  as  directed. 

All  hard-wood  floors  and  borders,  including  hard- 
Inside,  pine  floors  in  Kitchen  and  Basement,  are  to  have  one 
light  coat  of  oil,  and  to  be  finished  with  hard  wax  or 
Butcher's  Boston  Polish,  put  on  in  the  best  manner 
and  well  rubbed.  Other  hard-pine  wood-work,  and  all  ash  and 
whitewood  finish,  to  be  filled  with  oil  filler,  and  to  have  two  coats  of 
Pellucidite,  rubbed  down  with  emery  cloth  and  oil.  The  map: 3 
finish  in  Parlor  is  to  be  filled  with  oil  filler  and  to  have  three  coats 
of  white  shellac,  rubbed  down  with  emery  cloth  and  oil.  The 
cherry  stairs  are  to  be  stained  in  the  best  manner  to  imitate 
mahogany,  filled  with  oil  filler  and  finished  with  two  coats  of 
1'ellucidite,  rubbed  down  with  emery  cloth  and  oil.  The  mahogany 
jiosts  and  rails  are  to  be  filled  and  varnished  with  two  coats  of  best 
copal  varnish.  Oak  wood-work  in  Hall  is  to  be  oiled  one  light  coat, 
and  finished  with  Butcher's  Boston  Polish,  or  hard  wax,  well 
rubbed.  The  pine  in  Attic  hall  and  large  room  is  to  be  oiled  one 
coat  and  varnished  with  two  coats  of  copal  varnish.  Other  wood- 
work in  attic  is  to  be  painted  three  coats  of  pure  zinc  white  and 
oil,  to  finish  with  a  plain  oil  surface,  not  flatted. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  249 

Inside  of  sashes  to  be  stained  cherry  color  and 

.  ,     ,  Sashes, 

varnished. 

Varnish  all  exposed  lead  and  brass  pipes  and  bands 
with  one  coat  of  white  shellac. 

All  materials  are  to  be  of  the  very  best  quality.  Pure  linseed  oil 
only  is  to  be  used.  The  body  for  inside  work  is  to  be  pure  zinc 
white,  and  for  outside  work  to  be  the  best  French  ochre.  No  lead 
to  be  used  for  outside  work  unless  expressly  directed,  and  in  that 
case  to  be  pure  [Jewell's],  [Union]  or  [Salem]  white  lead. 

Putty-stop  thoroughly  and  smoothly  all  work  inside 
and  outside  after  the  first  coat  and  before  the  last 
coat,  coloring  the  putty  to  match  the  wood  after  darkening.     Use 
wax   suitably   colored     instead    of    ordinary    putty, 
wherever  wax  finish  or  Butcher's  polish  is  specified. 

Cover  all  knots,  sap  and  pitchy  places  with  strong  shellac,  and 
kill  knots  or   pitch  with  lime   where  necessary.     Sand-paper  all 
inside  work,  rubbing  with  the  grain,  and  clear  out  all 
mouldings  before  the  first  coat,  and  sand-paper  after 
each  coat  of  paint,  shellac,  Pellucidite  or  varnish  except  the  last. 


GLAZING. 

[This  is  almost  invariably  included  in  the  contract  for  painting.] 
Glaze  all  inside  and  outside  sashes,  except  those  specified  to  be 
furnished  ready  glazed  by  the  carpenter,  in  lights  as  shown  on 
drawings  or  as  directed,  with  first-quality  double-thick  French  or 
Gi-rman  glass ;  all  well  bedded,  puttied,  back-puttied,  and  tacked, 
and  all  repaired  at  the  completion  of  the  building,  thoroughly 
cleaned  and  left  whole  and  perfect. 


PLUMBER. 
[\f  this  is  made  a  separate  contract,  as  it  usually  should  be,  the  full  titlt 

and  the  General  Conditions  must  precede  the  Specification.] 
There  will  be  Flxtu.-es. 

In  Basement :  Set  of  four  white  earthenware  Wash-Trays. 
Cold  Supply  to  Wash-Boiler. 


250  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

One  [Hellyer's  short  Artisan  Hopper],  with  seat  attachment 
and  preliminary  flush. 

Sill-Cock. 

Furnace  Supply.  v> 

In  First  Story :  One  Soapstone  Kitchen  Sink  with  draining  shelves 
and  wall-plates. 

One  50-gallon  Bath-Boiler. 

One  Pantry  Sink. 
In  Second  Story:  One  Bath. 

Three  Wash-Basins. 

One  [H.  C.  Meyer  &  Go's]  Brighton  Water-Closet. 
In  Third  Story:  Tank. 

All  iron  pipes,  including  both  waste  and  air  pipes,  to  be  of  the 
best  quality,  [Motfs}  or  [Brady's]  make,  with  all  proper  f)  .tings ; 
the  horizontal  portion  of  the  main  soil-pipe  in  base- 
ment to  be  double-thick;  all  other  iron  pipes  to  be 
single-thick ;  and  all  to  be  thoroughly  coated  inside  and  outside  in  the 
best  manner  with  asphaltum  before  putting  up,  and  the  outside  to 
have  a  second  coat  afterwards :  all  to  be  put  up  in  the  best  and 
strongest  manner  with  iron  hooks  and  stays,  and  the  joints  caulked 
with  oakum  and  melted  lead. 

All  cold-water  supply,  air.  and  waste  pipes  under  2" 
Lead  Pipes.  ,      , 

are  to  be  best  drawn  lead,  and  to  weigh  as  follows  :  — 

Rising-Main :  f  inch  to  weigh  4  Ibs.  per  foot. 
Other  Supply- Pipes : 

1-inch  to  weigh  5  Ibs  per  foot. 

3      «          ((          «  A      «         «       4< 

5      ((          (i         «  3      «         «       it 

i    a      {<      «       2    "      "     " 
Wast e,  A  ir  and  Overflow  Pipes : 

2-inch  to  weigh  5  Ibs  per  foot. 

11     U        «  «  Q       «  «        « 

Hot-water  pipes  throughout  to  be  of  National  Tube  Works'  best 
seamless  drawn  plumbers'  brass  tubing,  with  brass  fit- 
tings, all  put  together  with  red  lead  in  the  best  man- 
ner and  made  perfectly  tight. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  251 

All  lead  and  brass  pipes  are  to  be  put  up  in  the  best  manner  on 
boards  set  in  place  by  the  carpenter.  The  lead  pipes  are  to  be  se- 
cured with  hard  metal  tacks  or  brass  bands  and  screws,  and  brasa 
pipes  with  brass  bands.  No  hooks  are  to  be  used.  The  hot  and 
cold  water  pipes  are  to  be  kept  at  least  £"  apart  everywhere.  All 
joints  in  lead  pipes  throughout  are  to  be  wiped  joints,  no  cup-joints 
to  be  permitted  anywhere  ;  and  all  brass  pipes  are  to  be  put  up  with 
light-angled  turns  so  arranged  as  to  allow  free  expansion  and  con- 
traction. All  connections  between  lead  and  iron  pipes  and  traps 
are  to  be  made  with  cast-brass  ferrules,  of  the  same  size  as  the  lead 
pipes,  soldered  to  the  lead  pipes  with  wiped  joints,  and  caulked  witli 
oakum  and  melted  lead  into  the  iron  pipes. 

The  waste-pipes  are  to  run  as  follows  :  — 

The  main  4-inch  soil-pipe  is  to  be  extended  through  the  north  side 
of  cellar-wall,  and  jointed  air-tight  with  clear  Port- 
land cement  into  the  drain-pipe  outside.  From  this 
point  it  is  to  run  with  uniform  pitch  along  the  cellar-wall,  and  under 
floor  of  basement  water-closet,  to  a  point  in  Laundry  under  second- 
story  water-closet,  with  4-inch  Y-branch  to  receive  trap  of  basement 
water-closet,  and  3-inch  Y-branch  for  waste-pipe  from  Laundry 
wash-trays,  then  turning  up  on  Laundry  wall  with  4-inch  Y  branch 
and  4-inch  brass  trap-screw  caulked  in  at  the  turn  for  cleaning  out 
the  pipe,  and  running  straight  up  on  Laundry  wall  through  the 
Kitchen  floor  and  Bath-room  with  2-inch  Y-branch  below  Kitchen  floor 
for  waste-pipe  from  Kitchen  sink,  4-inch  Y-branch  below  Bath-room 
floor  for  pipe  from  trap  of  water-closet,  and  2-inch  T-branch  above 
all  other  connections  for  air-pipe  from  traps ;  and  thence  straight 
up  through  and  two  feet  above  the  roof ;  the  top  to  be  protected  with 
brass  wire  netting,  and  a  flange  of  16-oz.  copper,  18"  square,  to  be 
soldered  on  to  protect  roof,  shingled  in  and  warranted  tight. 

Carry  a  3-inch  iron  pipe  from  the  connection  provided  for  it  in 
Laundry  with  uniform  pitch  on  north  wall  of  Laundry  to  the  corner, 
there  turning,  with  Y-branch  and  3-inch  brass  trap- 
screw  for  cleaning  out,  accessible  from  the  vegetable- 
cellar,  and  continuing  with  the  same  pitch  on  east 
wall  of  Laundry  behind  wash-trays,  with  Y-branch  for  pipe  from 
trap  of  wash-trays,  to  a  point  nearly  under  pantry  sink  in  first  story, 


252  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

and  there  turning,  with  Y-branch  and  3-inch  brass  trap-screw  at 
the  turn  for  cleaning  out,  and  continuing  up  on  Laundry  wall  to 
China-closet,  with  1^-inch  Y-branch  under  floor  for  waste  from  pan- 
try sink,  and  up  through  China-closet  and  closets  over  it,  with  double 
1^-inch  Y-branch  under  second-story  floor  for  wastes  from  wash-ba- 
sins, and  2-inch  T-branch  for  air-pipe  from  traps  above  all  other  con- 
nections and  thence  straight  up  through  the  roof  and  2  feet  above, 
with  brass  wire  netting  on  top,  and  18"  x  18"  flange  of  1-6-oz.  copper 
soldered  on  and  all  warranted  tight. 

Carry  a  2-inch  iron  air-pipe,  all  caulked  air-tight  in  the  same  way  as 
other  iron  pipes,  from  trap  of  basement  water-closet  beside  the  main 
soil-pipe  to  the  connection  with  soil-pipe  provided  for 
'it  in  Bath-room,  with  2-inch  T-branch   above  Bath- 
room floor  for  connection  with  lead  air-pipe  from  traps  of  sink  in 
Kitchen,   and    wash-basin,   bath   and   water-closet    in    Bath-room. 
Carry  a  separate  2-inch  iron  air-pipe  from  trap  of  Laundry  wash- 
trays  beside  the  3-inch  waste-pipe  to  the  connection  provided  for 
it  in  second  story,  with  1^-inch  T-branches  to  receive  air-pipes  from 
trap  of  pantry  sink  and  second-story  wash-basins. 

The  plumber  is  to  apply  for  $-inch  service-pipe  from  street  main 

to  house,  and  pay  all  charges,  if  any,  for  it,  and  is, 
Supply-Pipes*  '  f    '          /' 

when  called  upon,  to  furnish  and  fit  up  temporary 

cock  in  cellar  to  supply  water  for  building.  As  soon  as  the  house 
is  plastered  he  is  to  complete  the  permanent  supply-pipes  as  follows  : 

Carry  |-inch  four-pound  rising-main  up  on  cellar- wall  and  walls 

of  Laundry,  Kitchen  and  Bath-room  to  tank  in  attic, 

Rising-Main,  with  stop-and-waste  cock  at  cellar-wall,  and  branches 

as  follows : 

In  Basement:  —  f-inch  branch  to  Sill-cock. 
J-inch  branch  to  Furnace  Supply. 
J-  "          "       "  Water-closet  cistern. 
|-  "          "       "  Laundry  wash-trays. 
In  Kitchen :  —  |-inch  branch  to  Kitchen  sink. 

£-inch  branch  to  China-closet,  running  on  Kitchen  ceiling,  and 
dividing  in  China-closet  into  three  ^pinch  branches,  one  of 
which  is  to  supply  the  pantry  sink,  and  the  other  two  the 
wash-basins  in  second-story  chambers. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  25S 

In  Bath-room: — f-inch  branch  to  bath;  the  same  to  supply  wash- 
bow]  by  a  !-inch  branch. 
J-inch  branch  to  Water-closet  cistern. 

Every  branch  from  the  rising-main  is  to  have  separate  stop-and- 
waste  cock  in  a  convenient  place,  and  so  arranged  that  the  pipes  can 
be  completely  drained  of  water ;  and  each  of  the 

three  branches  in  China-closet  is  also  to  have  sepa-         op-ari 

„.    .  .   .     Waste  Cocks. 

rate  stop-and-waste  cock,  to  shut  off  the  pantry  sinks 

or  either  basin  and  empty  the  pipes  at  pleasure.    All  stop-and-waste 
cocks  to  be  finished  brass  ground  cocks  of  the  best  quality. 

Line  under  and  behind  all  pipes  and  traps  above  the  first  floor 
with  eleven-ounce  zinc,  the  horizontal  joints  to  be  well  soldered,  and 
the  upright  joints  to  be  lapped.     This  lining  is  to  enclose  completely 
all  pipes,  to  protect  ceilings  and  walls  from  any  defect 
or  leak,  present  or  future.     The  lining  to  be  graded 
to  certain  points,  and  to  be  connected  with  |-inchdrip  pipes  to  run  to 
basement,  and  empty  over  cistern  of  basement  water-closet ;  the  end 
of  the  pipe  to  dip  below  the  water-line  of  cistern. 

Line  with  16-oz.  tinned  copper  in  the  best  manner  the  tank  in 
attic,  4'  x  2'  x  4',  to  be  furnished  ready  for  lining  by  the  carpenter. 
Supply  from  the  rising-main,  with  |-inch  finished  brass  compression 
ball-cock  and  6-inch  copper  float,  and  put  in  1^-inch 
boiler  valve,  with  ^-inch  pipe  to  boiler,  and  1^-inch 
lead  overflow  pipe,  to  be  carried  down  beside  rising-main   and  to 
empty  over  kitchen  sink,  with  the  end  over  the  sink  turned  up  to 
form  a  trap. 

Hot  water  will  be  supplied  to  Laundry  wash-trays, 
Kitchen  sink,  pantry  sink,  bath,  and  three  wash-basins. 

Furnish. and  fit  up  in  Kitchen,  beside  range,  a  50-gallon  [5.  D. 
Hicks  tf  Son]  first-quality,  warranted  copper  bath-boiler,  on  Lock- 
wood  pattern  cast-iron  stand,  to  be   connected   to   water-back  of 
range  with    1"   brass   pipe   and   ground-plug  sediment-cock  union 
coupling,  and  to  have  waste-pipe  carried  to  the  waste- 
pipe  from  kitchen  sink.     The  boiler  is  to  have  three 
brass  pipe-couplings  on  top,  one  for  the  supply  from  tank,  and  the 


-'54  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

others  for  two  separate  f-inch  hot-water  supplies.  One  of  these  is  to 
be  carried  on  Kitchen  ceiling,  with  {-inch  brancli  to  Kitchen  sink, 
thence  to  Bath-room,  with  f:inch  branch  to  bath  and  £-inch  branch 
to  wash-basin,  and  to  continue  on  Bafti-room  wall  and  ceiling  t<? 
connect  with  the  coupling  provided  on  the  boiler  for  circulation, 
and  a  ^-inch  expansion  pipe  to  be  carried  from  the  highest  point  of 
theciiculation  pipe  two  feet  above  the  tank,  and  turned  flown  over 
the  mouth  of  the  overflow  pipe.  The  other  |-inch  hot-water  supply- 
pipe  is  to  be  carried  on  Kitchen  ceiling  to  China-closet,  with  f-inch 
branch  down  on  Kitchen  wall  to  Laundry  wash-trays,  and  £-ineh 
branch  to  pantry  sink.  Beyond  the  China-closet  it  is  to  divide 
into  two  J-inch  branches,  extending  to  wash-basins  in  second-story 
chambers,  without  any  circulation  or  expansion  pipe. 

Put  three  finished  brass  stop-and-waste  cocks  on  hot-water  supply- 
pipes  in  China-closet,  to  shut  off  pantry  sink  and  wash- 
Hot- Water  ,       ,  ,  . 
Stop-and-    basins  in  second-story  chambers  separately,  at  pleas- 
Waste  Cocks.  urGj  an j  jrain  the  pipes.     Put  two  cocks  of  the  same 
kind  over  Kitchen  sink,  to  shut  off  the  sink  or  the  Bath-room  fixtures. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  in  Bath-room  and  two  chambers  in  second  story, 
where  shown  or  directed,  three  best  16-inch  white  earthenware 
overflow  ground  wash-basins.  Each  to  be  supplied  with  hot  and 
cold  water  through  £-inch  pipe,  and  No.  4  extra  silver-plated  cast-tube 
compression  basin-cocks  j  and  to  waste  through  plated  socket  and 
strainer,  with  plated  plug  and  chain-stay,  bolted  to  the  marble,  and 
plated  safety-chain  No.  1,  1^-inch  lead  pipe  to  main 
wastes  with  1^-inch  lead  S-trap  close  to  the  outlet,  and 
brass  trap-screw,  and  1^-inch  vent-pipe  to  main  air-pipe.  Connect 
the  overflow  with  the  traps  by  1^-inch  lead  pipe,  entering  below 
the  water-line,  to  prevent  circulation  of  air. 

Cover  each  basin  with  1^-inch,  best  quality,  blue-veined  Italian 
maible  slab,  dished,  with  all  free  edges  ogee  moulded,  and  with  f-inch 
wall-plates  of  the  same  marble,  15"  high,  with  ogee-moulded  edges. 
Basins  to  be  secured  to  marble  with  three  brass  basin  clamps  and 
bolts  to  each,  and  the  joint  to  be  made  tight  with  plaster-of-Paris. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  in  Bath-room,  where  shown  or  directed,  one  6- 
foot  20-oz.  [Steeger's]  tinned  and  planished  copper  overflow  bath,  to  1)6 


BUILDING  SUPEItiNTJiNDIiNCE.  255 

supplied  with  Lot  and  cold  water  through  $-mch  pipe  and  |-inch  extra 

silver-plated   compression  bath  bibb-cocks ;  and  to  waste  through 

plated   socket  and  strainer,    with   plated   plug   and 

chain-stay,  and  plated  safety-chain  No.  2,  with  2-inch 

lead  pipe  to  main  waste,  and  2-inch  lead  S-trap,  with  brass  trap-screw 

and  1^-inch  lead  vent-pipe  to  main  air-pipe.     Connect  the  overflow  to 

Jie  trap  by  1^-inch  lead  pipe,  entering  below  the  water-line. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  in  China-closet,  where  shown  or  directed,  one 
[Steeger's]  24-oz.  tinned  and  planished  copper  14"  x  20"  flat-bottomed 
overflow  pantry  sink ;    to  be  supplied  with   hot   and   cold    water 
through  tall  extra  silver-plated  upright  core  compression  pantry- 
cocks,   with   screw  nozzle  for  cold   water ;    and   to 
waste  through  plated  socket  and  strainer,  and  2-inch 
brass  Boston  waste-cock,  with  silver-plated  plate  and  lever,  and  1^-inch 
lead  pipe  to  main  waste,  with  4-inch  round  trap  and  4-inch  brass  trap- 
screw,  and  l^-inch  lead  vent-pipe  to  main  air-pipe.     Connect  the  over- 
flow to  the  trap  by  1^-inch  lead  pipe,  entering  below  the  water-line. 

Cover  with  1^-inch  best  quality, ^lue-veined  Italian  marble  slab, 
dished,  with  all  free  edges  ogee-moulded,  and  with  |-inch  wall- 
plates  of  the  same  marble,  15"  high,  with  ogee-moulded  edges. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  in  second-story  Bath-room,  where  shown,  one 
[//.  C.  Meyer  fy  Co.'s]  white  earthenware  Brighton  water-closet,  and 
wooden  cistern,  lined  with  16-oz.  tinned  copper,  16"x  16"x  24",  inside 
measurement,  with  [Meyer's]  4-inch  brass  cistern- 
valve,  brass  compression  or  Fuller  ball-cock  and  4-inch 
tinned  copper  float,  cranks,  lever,  and  plated  safety- 
chain  No.  2,  polished  black  handle  complete,  and  l^-inch  2^-lb.  lead 
pipe  to  basin,  and  1^-inch  overflow  carried  into  basin  supply.  To  be 
connected  to  branch  of  soil-pipe  by  4-inch  lead  pipe  and  brass  ferrules, 
and  a  2-inch  lead  vent-pipe  to  be  carried  from  this  pipe  to  main  air- 
pipe.  Connect  the  ventilation-pipe  from  back  of  closet  by  2-inch 
pipe  to  range  flue  in  chimney,  making  all  tight. 

Furnish  and  fit   up   in   Basement,   where  shown,  one  [Hellyer's] 
white    earthenware    short    Artisan    Hopper    water- 
closet,  with  flexible  metallic  connection,  and  wooden   Basement. 
cistern  lined   with    16-oz.  tinned  copper,  16"  x   16" 
x    24".   inside    measurement,    with    24-oz.    two-gallon    service-box, 


256  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE 

brass  compression  ball-cock  and  4-inch  tinned  copper  float,  and 
[Meyer's]  4-inch  brass  cistern  valve,  cranks  and  all  attachments 
complete  for  automatic  seat-supply  with  preliminary  and  after  Hush, 
and  1^-inch  2^  Ib.  lead  pipe  to  basin  with  1^-inch  overflow  connected 
to  basin  supply.  To  waste  through  4-inch  lead  pipe  to  branch  of 
soil-pipe,  and  a  2-inch  lead  vent-pipe  to  be  carried  from  trap  to  niaiu 
air-pipe. 

Put  Mott's  enamelled  iron   slop-safe,  of    suitable 
shape,  over  bowl  of  each  water-closet. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  in  Kitchen,  where  shown  or  directed,  one  best- 
quality  soapstone  kitchen  sink,  24"  x  48"  x  8",  with  grooved  soapstone 
KI  si       draining  shelf  and  soap-dish,  and  soapstone  back  16" 

high ;  to  be  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water  through 
$-inch  pipe  and  $-inch  finished  brass  compression-cocks,  the  cold  water 
cock  to  have  screw  nozzle  ;  and  to  waste  through  6-inch  brass  cess- 
pool and  strainer,  and  2-inch  lead  pipe  to  main  waste, with  6-inch  round 
lead  trap  and  4-inch  brass  trap-^crew,  and  2-inch  lead  vent-pipe  to 
main  air-pipe.  Sinks  to  stand  on  wooden  frame  furnished  by  the 
carpenter. 

Furnish  and  put  up  in  Laundry,  where  shown  or  directed,  a 
set  of  four  white  earthenware  wash-trays,  of  the  Morahan  Ceramic 
Co.,  one  to  have  rubbing  board  formed  in  the  porcelain.  All  to  be 
w  h-T  set  comP^ete  ty  the  plumber,  and  each  to  be  supplied 
with  hot  and  cold  water  through  f-inch  pipe  and 
|-inch  finished  brass  compression  wash-tray  cocks.  To  waste 
through  best  1^-inch  silver-plated  wash-tray  strainers  and  coup- 
lings, with  plated  plugs,  chain-stays,  and  plated  safety  chain  No.  2, 
and  to  have  one  6-inch  round  lead  trap  for  the  set  of  four  trays, 
with  4-inch  brass  trap-screw,  and  separate  1^-inch  lead  waste-pipe 
from  each  tray,  all  entered  into  the  trap  below  the  water-line,  with 
2-inch  lead  outlet  pipe  from  trap  to  main  waste,  and  2-inch  lead 
vent-pipe  from  trap  to  main  air-pipe. 

Supply  the  wash-boiler,  to  be  furnished  and  set  by  the  mason, 
with  cold  water  only,  through  $-inch  lead  pipe,  carried 

throuSh  toP  of  boiler  and  neatlv  finished>  with  finch 
finished  brass  ground  stop-cock  on  the  pipe,  in  a  con- 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  25 i 

venient  position  over  the  boiler.     There  will  be  no  waste  to  this 
boiler. 

Bore  through  the  sill  of  house  under  middle  of  front  bay,  or  else- 
where where  directed,  and  put  on  outside  a  f-inch 
plated  compression  sill-cock,  with  screw  for  hose. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  on  pier  next  to  furnace  a  £-inch  FUrnacesUD- 
finished  brass    compression    bibb-cock  for  drawing          ply. 
water. 

Line  under  all  fixtures  of  every  kind  about  the  basement  with  4-lb 
sheet  lead  turned  up  2  inches  all  around,  and  to  have  convex  brass 
strainer  and  1-inch  drip-pipes  carried  to  basement  and 
emptying  over  cistern  of  basement  water-closet ;  the 
end  of  pipe  to  dip  below  water-line  of  cistern. 

All  the  work  is  to  be  done  in  the  very  best,  neatest  and  most  thor 
ough  manner,  tested  by  turning  the  water  on  to  each  part.  All  de- 
fects to  be  made  good  at  the  completion  of  the  building  and  all  left 
perfect  and  warranted  for  two  years. 

As  soon  as  the  pipes  and  traps  are  ready  the  traps  are  to  be  filled 
with  water,  and  the  whole  system  tested  by  closing  all  air-pipes  and 
other  outlets,  and  pouring  5  ounces  of  oil  of  pepper- 
mint into  the  top  of  the  main  soil-pipe,  followed  by 
two  or  three  gallons  of  hot  water,  and  immediately 
closing  the  top  of  the  soil-pipe.  This  is  to  be  done  in  the  presence 
of  the  architect  or  of  some  person  appointed  by  him,  and  if  any 
odor  of  the  peppermint  is  detected  in  any  part  of  the  house  the 
plumber  is  at  his  own  expense  to  search  for  and  find  the  defect  or 
defects  which  may  have  allowed  the  vapor  of  peppermint  to  escape, 
and  make  them  all  good.  After  repairing  the  defects  so  discovered, 
the  test  is  to  be  repeated  in  the  same  way,  and  any  further  defects  so 
detected  are  also  to  be  made  good  at  the  plumber's  expense,  until 
the  whole  is  satisfactorily  proved  to  be  tight  and  perfect,  and  all 
work  is  then  to  be  restored  and  replaced  in  good  order ;  the  whole 
cost  of  making  such  repairs,  and  of  removing  and  replacing  other 
work  disturbed  to  obtain  access  to  the  pipes,  witl*  all  expense  of 
making  good  any  damage  so  occasioned,  and  indemnity  for  delays 
to  other  contractors,  to  be  paid  by  the  plumber. 


258  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

GAS-FITTIXG. 

[The  gas-fitting  is  of  ten  included  in  fie  plumber's  contract.} 

PIPE  the  house  for  gas  in  the  best  manner  in  accordance  with  th« 
regulations   of    the   Gas  Company,  with  outlets    as 
marked   on   plans,  [seventy-two"]  outlets  jn  all.     All 
pipe  to  be  best  wrought-iron,  and  all  fittings  under  2-inch  to  be  of  mal- 
leable iron.    All  to  be  put  together  with  red  lead,  capped,  tested  and 
proved  perfectly  tight  before  any  plastering  is  done,  and  the  caps 
left  on.    All  pipes  are  to  be  laid  with  a  fall  towards  the  meter,  which 
is  to  be  placed  [in  furnace-cellar  near  west  window']  and  all  are  to  be 
well  secured  with  hooks  and  bands. 

The  gas-fitter  is  to  call  upon  the  carpenter  to  do  such  cutting  of 
timbers  as  he  needs,  but  no  beams  are  to  be  cut,  notched  or  bored  at 
a  greater  distance  than  2  feet  from  the  bearing ;  drop-lights  where 
requisite  to  be  supplied  by  special  branches.  All  nipples  to  be  of 
the  exact  length  for  putting  on  fixtures  without  alteration,  and  all  to 
be  exactly  perpendicular  to  the  wall  or  ceiling  from  which  they  pro- 
ject. Bracket  outlets  in  all  Halls  and  passages,  Parlor,  Dining- 
room,  Kitchen,  Bath-room,  Furnace-cellar  and  Basement  Water- 
closet,  to  be  exactly  5'  6"  above  finished  floor ;  elsewhere  to  be 
exactly  4'  9"  above  finished  floor.  Mirror  light  outlets  to  be  8' 
above  finished  floor. 

Apply  and  pay  all  necessary  charges  for  service-pipe  from  street 
main  to  inside  of  cellar-wall,  and  connect  the  service- 
C°i!leterln8    P*Pe  an(1  house-pipes  with  the  meter  in  the  best  man- 
ner, with  stop-cock  on  the  street  side  of  the  meter, 
and  leave  all  perfect. 


HEATING. 

Furnish  and  set  where  shown  or  directed  in  Basement  one  bost 
quality  [No.  24  Peerless]  brick  furnace,  including  galvanized-iron 
inverted  cone  top  and  covering  bars,  8-inch  galvanized-iron  smoke- 
pipe,  tin  hot-air  pipes,  register-boxes,  registers,  soapstone  borders, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  25f 

plastering  rings,  wire  nettings  and  dampers  complete,  anil  including 
also  all  cartage,  transportation  and  labor  of  every  kind  except  only 
mason  and  carpenter  work. 

In  First  Story:  The  Front  Hall  is  to  have  12-inch  pipe  and  12"  x 
15"  register.  Size  of  Pi  « 

The  Back  Hall  is  to  have  12-inch  pipe  and  and  Registers 
12"xl5"  register. 

The  Parlor  is  to  have  12-inch  pipe  and  12"  x  15"  register. 

The  Dining-room  is  to  have  12-inch  pipe  and  12"  x  15"  reg- 
ister. 

In  Second  Story :  The  Chamber  over  Dining-room  is  to  have  10-inch 
pipe  and  10"  x  14"  register. 

The  Chamber  over  Parlor  is  to  have  10-inch  pipe  and  10"  x 
14"  register. 

The  Chamber  over  Kitchen  is  to  have  9-inch  pipe  and  9"  x 
12"  register. 

The  Chamber  over  Hall  is  to  have  9-inch  pipe  and  9"  x  12" 
register. 

The  Dressing-room  is  to  have  8-inch  pipe  and  8"  x  10"  reg- 
ister. 

The  Bath-room  is  to  have  8-inch  pipe  and  8"x  10"  register. 

Each  room  is  to  have  an  independent  hot-air  pipe  and  all  hot-air 
pipes  to  be  double  where  they  pass  through  floors  or  partitions,  or 
behind  furrings.  The  pipes  are  to  be  carefully  arranged  so  that  all 
may  draw  equally,  with  easy  turns  at  every  change  of  direction.  All 
register-boxes  are  to  be  double;  all  tin-work  to  be  of  XX  bright  tin, 
and  all  wood-work  within  1"  of  any  hot-air  pipe,  or  within  16" 
of  the  smoke-pipe,  to  be  protected  with  pieces  of  bright  tin,  securely 
nailed  on.  All  registers  are  to  be  of  [Creamer's]  make,  all  placed 
where  shown  on  plans  or  as  directed  ;  the  one  in  Parlor  to  be  nickel- 
plated  ;  all  the  others  to  be  black  japanned. 

Make  and  put  up  a  cold-air  box  of  galvanized-iron  as  shown  by 
blue  lines  on  plan,  to  be  22"  x  31"  in  section,  all  riveted  together  in 
the  best  manner,  and  strongly  secured  to  cellar  ceil-      ,d.A,    B 
ing.   The  mouth  at  each  end  to  be  flanged  out  to  pro- 
tect the  joint  with  the  frame,  and  to  have  strong  galvanized-wire  net- 


2GO  BUILDING  SUPEKIXTEXDENCE 

ting,  \"  mesh,  over  the  opening.  Put  a  sliding  damper  of  galvanized- 
iron  in  each  end,  and  make  door  24"  x.  30"  for  cleaning  out,  with 
button  fastening. 

Furnish  and  put  on  in  the  best  manner  [  White's"]  automatic  regu- 
lator, to  act  both  upon  the   check-draught   and   the 
damper  in  the  smoke-pipe,  and  leave  all  in  perfect 
working  order. 

Clean  up  the  iron-work  and  leave  it  neat  at  the  completion  of  the 
building,  and  furnish  a  shaking  handle,  poker  and  iron  shovel. 

Furnish  and  fit  up  where  shown  in  Kitchen  one  No.  5  [Carpen- 
ter's] Range  with  water-back  and  couplings,  and  plate-warmer,  all 
to  be  set  complete,  including  all  transportation  and 
labor  except  mason-work.     Clean  up  the  range  and 
leave  it  neat  at  the  completion  of  the  building,  and  furnish  at  the 
same  time  the  usual  list  of  tin  and  iron  ware. 

Furnish  and  set  up  where  directed  in  Laundry  a  [Walker's]  Xo. 

1    stationary   laundry-stove,     with     galvanized-iron 
Laundry  Stove.  .      J  .    J  .         , 

smoke-pipe,  and  zinc-covered  stove-board  complete : 

all  to  be  left  neat  and  perfect. 


CONTRACTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Not  the  least  important  of  the  young  architect's  duties  is  that  oi 
guarding  the  interests  of  his  employer  by  means  of  a  clear  and  ex- 
plicit contract  with  each  of  the  mechanics  employed  on  his  building, 
In  general  the  architect  himself  will  have  to  draw  up  these  instru- 
ments, the  ordinary  printed  forms  being  quite  inadequate  for  the 
purpose,  and  he  will  find  the  task  not  always  an  easy  one.  While 
it  is  incumbent  on  him  to  secure  the  best  and  safest  terms  for  his 
employer  that  the  contractors  will  agree  to,  he  has  no  right  to  use 
unfair  means  to  induce  them  to  sign  their  names  to  stipulations  of 
which  they  do  not  fully  understand  the  meaning ;  and  if  he  wishes 
to  be  able  to  enforce  the  contract  in  case  of  need  he  cannot  be  too 
careful  to  express  in  the  plainest  language  every  point  upon  which 
it  may  subsequently  be  necessary  to  insist. 

In  order  to  provide  for  all  possible  contingencies  it  is  necessary  to 
define  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  parties  under  a  great  variety  of 
circumstances,  and  a  good  contract  will  for  this  reason  be  somewhat 
long;  but  this  is  better  than  a  condensation  which  leaves  loopholes 
for  evasion  or  dispute. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  contracts  are  often  entered  into  un- 
thinkingly, which  may  prove  very  disadvantageous  for  one  of  the 
parties,  and  the  architect  must  be  careful  to  protect  his  p:  incipal 
from  such  mishaps.  Thus  the  making  of  a  bid  for  work  by  a  me- 
chanic, and  its  unconditional  acceptance  by  the  owner,  or  the  ar- 
chitect for  him,  constitute  a  valid  agreement,  by  which  the  mechanic 
is  bound  to  do  the  work,  and  the  owner  to  pay  for  it,  perhaps  with- 
out any  stipulations  as  to  the  time  of  completion,  the  terms  of  pay- 
ment, or  other  very  important  matters,  which  may  have  to  be  decided 
afterwards  by  costly  litigation.  For  this  reason  many  architects  ac- 


262  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

eept  a  tender  only  upon  the  condition  that  a  satisfactory  contract 
shall  be  signed  by  the  party  offering  it ;  but  such  a  conditional  ac- 
ceptance does  not  bind  the, latter,  who  is  then  at  liberty  to  withdraw 
his  bid,  if  he  chooses,  at  anytime  beforethe  final  agreement  is  signed. 
If,  therefore,  any  tender  should  be  particularly  advantageous,  it  may 
be  desirable  to  prevent  its  withdrawal  by  a  prompt  and  definite  ac- 
ceptance, and  in  order  that  this  may  carry  with  it  by.,  implication 
the  consent  of  the  parties  to  at  least  the  more  important  clauses  of 
an  ordinary  contract,  it  is  usual  to  employ  the  device  of  General 
Conditions,  which  are  prefixed  to  every  specification,  and  constitute 
a  part  of  it ;  and  since  the  tender  is  always  for  doing  work  or  fur- 
nishing material  according  to  the  specification,  the  general  condition* 
will  be  included  in  the  terms  to  which  the  bidder  offers  to  conform, 
and  will  be  binding  upon  him  if  hi*  bid  is  accepted.  As  the  general 
conditions  relate  to  the  duties  of  the  mechanic,  not  to  those  of  the 
owner,  the  former  will  usually  be  very  willing  to  exchange  the  one- 
sided agreement  constituted  by  them,  under  which,  for  instance,  the 
owner  would  not  be  required  to  make  any  payments  before  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work,  for  a  new  one,  defining  the  rights  of  both  parties ; 
and  the  new  contract  may,  and  should,  comprise  the  substance  of 
the  general  conditions  of  the  specifications,  expressed  in  nearly  the 
same  words. 

A  building  contract  is  usually  divided  into  two  portions,  the  first 
of  which  is  the  simple  agreement  of  one  party  to  do  a  certain  work 
for  the  other  within  a  certain  time,  in  consideration  of  a  certain  pay- 
ment, which  the  latter  promises  to  make ;  while  the  second  comprises 
the  conditions  which  explain,  or  modify  the  principal  agreement. 
The  first  portion,  comprising  the  essence  of  the  contract,  should  be 
drawn  up  with  special  care,  and  although  expressed  in  the  briefest  pos- 
sible terms,  it  should  be  made  to  include  the  points  regarded  as  most 
important.  In  English  contracts  the  principal  agreement  is  general- 
ly written  without  any  punctuation  except  periods  at  the  ends  of  the 
sentences,  the  object  of  this  being  as  much  to  enforce  clearness  of 
expression  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  fraudulent  or  careless 
change  in  the  sense  by  the  alteration  of  points,  and  the  practice 
seems  to  be  a  useful  one.  The  conditions  which  follow  may  have 
ordinary  punctuation  or  not,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  make  them  intelligi- 
ble without  it. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  263 

Whether  contracts  should  be  sealed  by  the  signers  or  not  is  per- 
haps doubtful.     A  simple  agreement,  in  which  a  consideration  ia 
expressed  for  each  promise,  would  not  require  seals, 
but  among  the  many  and  various  stipulations  of  a 
building  contract  some  might  possibly  be  regarded  as  promises  to 
which  the  consideration  did  not  apply,  and  a  seal  would  be  required 
to  make  these  valid :  so  that  it  seems  to  be  a  reasonable  precaution 
to  affix  them. 

In  some  states  building  contracts  must  be  recorded  by  the  proper 
public  officer,  and  the  law  in  this  respect  should  be  ascertained  by 
architects  practising  beyond  the  boundaries  of  their  own  state.  The 
statutes  in  regard  to  the  liens  of  mechanics  and  material-men  also 
vary  in  different  states,  and  are  frequently  changed,  so  that  some 
care  is  necessary  to  secure  owners  absolutely  against  loss  by  the  dis- 
honesty or  bankruptcy  of  the  builder.  In  most  states  the  right  of 
mechanics  to  file  liens  against  a  building  or  estate  to  recover  the 
amount  of  their  wages  for  work  upon  it  is  barred  at  the  expiration 
of  thirty  days  from  the  time  that  they  cease  their  labor,  so  that  if 
the  record  after  this  time  shows  no  lien  to  have  been  filed,  the  con- 
tractor may  be  paid  the  balance  due  him  in  full,  without  fear  that 
the  workmen  can  demand  an  additional  sum.  Where  sixty  days  or 
more  are  allowed  by  law  for  filing  liens,  the  last  payment  to  the  con- 
tractor must  be  deferred  until  after  the  lapse  of  this  term,  allowing 
a  few  days  more  to  give  opportunity  for  examining  the  record.  Liens 
for  materials  furnished  to  a  contractor  can  in  most  states  only  be 
claimed  by  giving  notice  to  the  owner  of  the  building  in  which  they 
are  used,  before  they  are  delivered,  that  he  will  be  held  responsible 
for  the  price  of  them,  and  he  can  then  retain  the  amount  out  of  the 
payments  to  the  contractor,  or  he  can  notify  the  dealer  that  he  will 
not  receive  them,  and  the  latter  can  then  only  look  to  the  builder  for 
his  pay. 

With  these  explanations,  the  clauses  in  the  following  form  of  con- 
tract will  be  sufficiently  clear.  The  insurance  clause  may  need 
modification  according  to  circumstances,  but  the  important  points 
are  to  make  sure  that  the  builder's  interest  will  be  covered,  so  that 
in  case  of  loss  he  may  not  be  thrown  into  bankruptcy,  to  the  injury 
of  the  owner ;  and  to  define  clearly  the  mode  in  which  the  policy 
shall  be  taken  out  and  paid  for,  so  that  the  building  may  not  be  left 


264  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

unprotected  through  any  misunderstanding  between  the  owner  and 
contractor  as  to  each  other's  duty. 


,» 


CONTRACT  FOR  BUILDING 

Made  this  fifteenth  day  of  September  in  the  year  1883  by  and  be- 
tween James  Johnson  of  Albany  in  the  County  of  Albany  and  State 
of  New  York  party  of  the  first  part  and  Thomas  Smith  Richard 
Smith  and  Henry  Smith  of  Melrose  in  the  County  of  Rensselaer  and 
State  aforesaid  copartners  doing  business  under  the  Jirm  name  and 
style  of  Smith  Brothers  builders  party  of  the  second  part. 

The  said  Smith  Brothers  party  of  the  second  part  for  themselves 
and  each  of  them  and  each  of  their  heirs  executors  administrators 
and  assigns  hereby  covenant  and  agree  to  and  with  the  said  party  of 
the  first  part  his  heirs  and  legal  representatives  in  consideration  that 
the  party  of  the  first  part  agrees  to  perform  *he  consideration  herein- 
after mentioned  to  make  erect  build  and  finish  for  the  said  party 
of  the  first  part  his  heirs  and  assigns  a  dwelling-house  on  land  of 
said  party  of  the  first  part  on  Fairfield  Street  in  said  Mclrost  in- 
cluding all  the  excavation  and  grading  mason-work  plastering  car- 
penter-work roofing  painting  and  glazing  but  exclusive  of  plumbing 
gas-fitting  and  heating  and  to  furnish  all  the  materials  of  every 
kind  labor  scaffolding  and  cartage  for  the  full  completion  of  the 
said  excavation  and  grading  mason-work  plastering  carpenter-work 
roofing  painting  and  glazing  and  they  agree  to  supply  said  work 
and  materials  in  strict  accordance  with  the  drawings  and  specifica- 
tions made  by  Edward  Tyro  of  said  Albany  architect  which  said 
drawings  and  specifications  are  and  are  to  be  caken  and  deemed  to 
be  a  part  of  this  contract  by  both  the  parties  thereto  and  all  things 
which  in  the  opinion  of  the  said  architect  may  fairly  be  inferred 
from  such  drawings  and  specifications  to  be  intended  without  being 
specially  stipulated  are  to  be  taken  as  expressly  specified  and  all 
the  materials  are  to  be  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity  and  where  the 
quality  is  not  otherwise  described  in  the  specifications  the  ben' 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  265 

quality  of  materials  is  specifically  implied  throughout  and  the 
said  Smith  Brothers  party  of  the  second  part  covenant  to  perform 
the  whole  of  their  agreement  in  the  best  most  substantial  and  most 
workmanlike  manner  subject  to  the  directions  from  time  to  time 
and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  said  architect  or  his  successor  ap- 
pointed by  the  party  of  the  first  part  and  to  deliver  their  work 
completely  finished  on  or  before  the  fifteenth  day  of  April  next. 

And  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  hereby  promises  and  agrees 
in  consideration  of  the  promise  of  the  party  of  the  second  part  to 
perform  the  foregoing  covenants  to  pay  to  the  said  party  of  the 
second  part  the  sum  of  six  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
dollars  ($6,497)  in  four  several  payments  as  follows  :  — 

The  first  payment  to  be  Fifteen  Hundred  Dollars  ($1.500)  when 
the  roof  is  on  and  boarded. 

The  second  payment  to  be  Fifteen  Hundred  Dollars  ($1,500)  when 
all  the  outside  work  including  piazza  and  porch  is  done  and  painted 
one  coat  and  the  mason-work  and  plastering  finished  and  the  sashes 


The  third  payment  to  be  Fifteen  Hundred  Dollars  ($1,500)  when 
the  standing  finish  is  done  and  the  upper  floors  and  stairs  completed 
and  the  second  coat  of  paint  on  the  outside. 

And  the  balance  thirty-three  days  after  the  said  work  shall  have 
been  completely  finished  and  delivered  and  accepted  by  the  said 
party  of  the  first  part  unless  some  defect  shall  meanwhile  have 
been  discovered  in  the  said  work. 

Provided  however  that  no  payment  shall  be  made  except  upon 
the  certificate  of  the  said  architect  or  his  successor  that  the  work 
for  which  said  payment  is  to  be  made  is  properly  done  and  that 
the  payment  is  due  such  certificate  however  not  exempting  the 
party  of  the  second  part  from  liability  to  make  good  any  work  so 
certified  if  it  be  afterwards  discovered  to  have  been  improperly 
done  or  not  in  accordance  with  the  plans  or  specifications  and  pro- 
vided further  that  prior  to  each  payment  by  the  party  of  the  first 
part  a  satisfactory  certificate  shall  have  been  obtained  to  the  effect 


266  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

that  the  estate  or  building  upon  or  for  which  the  work  is  done  is  at 
the  time  when  the  payment  is  made  free  from  all  mechanic's  liens 
and  other  claims  chargeable  upon  said  building  or  estate  and  in- 
curred by  said  party  of  the  second  part* 

And  it  is  hereby  further  agreed  by  and  between  the  said  parties 
hereto  that  the  drawings  and  specifications  are  intended  to  cooper- 
ate so  that  any  works  shown  on  the  drawings  and  not  mentioned  in 
the  specifications  or  vice  versa  are  to  be  executed  by  the  party  of 
the  second  part  without  extra  charge  the  same  as  if  they  were  both 
mentioned  in  the  specifications  and  shown  on  the  drawings.  The 
said  party  of  the  first  part  or  the  said  architect  with  the  consent  of 
the  party  of  the  first  part  shall  be  at  liberty  to  order  any  variations 
from  the  drawings  or  specifications  either  in  adding  thereto  or 
diminishing  therefrom  or  otherwise  however  and  such  variations 
shall  not  vitiate  this  contract  but  the  difference  in  cost  shall  be 
added  to  or  deducted  from  the  consideration  of  this  contract  as  the 
case  may  be  by  a  fair  and  reasonable  valuation  and  the  architect 
shall  have  power  to  extend  the  time  of  completion  on  account  of 
alterations  or  additions  so  ordered  such  extension  to  be  certified  by 
him  to  the  party  of  the  fir'st  part  at  the  time  when  such  order  for 
alterations  or  additions  is  given.  Orders  for  changes  which  do  not 
affect  the  cost  of  the  work  may  be  given  by  word  of  mouth  but  no 
order  for  any  change  which  increases  or  diminishes  the  cost  of  the 
work  or  affects  the  time  of  completion  shall  be  valid  unless  given  in 
writing. 

Neither  the  whole  nor  any  portion  of  this  contract  shall  be 
assigned  or  sub-let  by  the  party  of  the  second  part  without  the  writ- 
ten consent  of  the  party  of  the  first  part. 

If  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  shall  fail  to  complete  the 
said  works  including  all  variations  should  such  be  made  at  or  be- 
fore the  time  agreed  upon  with  such  extension  if  any  in  the  case 
of  extra  work  as  may  have  been  made  and  certified  by  the  architect 
then  and  in  that  case  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  shall  forfeit 
and  pay  to  the  said  party  of  the  first  part  the  sum  of  Ten  dollars 
($10)  for  each  and  every  day  that  the  said  works  shall  remain  un- 
finished after  the  time  agreed  upon  for  their  completion  unless  in 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  267 

the  oprmon  of  said  architect  such  delay  could  not  with  reasonable 
diligence  and  prudence  have  been  avoided  or  foreseen  by  the  said 
party  of  the  second  part  the  sums  so  forfeited  to  be  retained  us 
liquidated  and  ascertained  damages  out  of  any  money  that  may  tlu-n 
be  due  or  owing  or  may  thereafter  become  due  or  owing  to  the  said 
party  of  the  second  part  on  account  of  their  work  and  materials 
under  this  contract. 

If  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  shall  become  bankrupt  or  in- 
solvent or  assign  their  property  for  the  benefit  of  creditors  or 
become  otherwise  unable  themselves  to  carry  on  the  work  or  shall 
neglect  or  refuse  to  do  so  at  any  time  for  six  days  in  the  manner  re- 
quired by  the  architect  or  shall  refuse  to  follow  his  direction  as  to 
the  mode  of  doing  the  work  or  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  comply 
with  any  of  the  articles  of  this  agreement  then  the  said  party  of  the 
first  part  or  his  agent  shall  have  the  right  and  is  hereby  empowered 
to  enter  upon  and  take  possession  of  the  premises  with  the  mate- 
rials and  apparatus  thereon  after  giving  two  days'  notice  in  writin" 
and  thereupon  all  claim  of  the  said  party  of  the  second  part  their 
executors  administrators  and  assigns  shall  cease  and  the  said  party 
of  the  first  part  or  his  agent  may  after  using  such  of  the  materials 
already  on  the  ground  as  shall  be  suitable  provide  other  materials 
and  workmen  sufficient  to  finish  the  said  works  and  the  cost  of  labor 
and  materials  so  provided  shall  be  deducted  from  the  amount  to  be 
paid  under  this  contract. 

All  materials  shall  be  the  property  of  the  party  of  the  first  part 
as  soon  as  they  are  delivered  on  the  ground  subject  only  to  the  right 
of  the  party  of  the  second  part  to  remove  surplus  materials  at  the 
completion  of  the  building  but  no  materials  are  to  be  paid  for 
before  they  are  set  in  place  in  the  work. 

Tho  said  party  of  the  first  part  shall  keep  the  said  building  at  all 
times  fully  insured  against  loss  by  fire  for  the  benefit  of  whom  it 
may  concern  and  in  case  of  loss  the  indemnity  shall  be  divided  be- 
tween the  parties  hereto  according  to  their  respective  interests  in 
the  property  destroyed.  The  said  party  of  the  second  part  shah  be 
solely  responsible  for  all  loss  failure  or  damage  from  whatever 
cause  to  the  said  works  loss  by  fire  alone  excepted  until  the  whole 


268  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

IB  delivered  and  accepted  by  the  party  of  the  first  part  and  shall 
give  all  necessary  assistance  to  the  other  mechanics  employed  in  the 
building  and  shall  be  solely  -  responsible J.  or  any  delay  to  their  oper- 
ations or  damage  to  their  work  or  materials  or  to  neighboring  prop- 
erty or  to  the  persons  or  property  of  the  public  by  the  workmen  or 
through  the  operations  of  the  said  party  of  the  second  part. 

t 
And  for  the  faithful  performance  of  each  and  every  the  articles  and 

agreements  hereinbefore  contained  the  said  parties  hereto  do  here- 
by bind  themselves  their  heirs  executors  administrators  and  assigns 
each  to  the  other  in  the  penal  sum  of  Three  Thousand  Dollars 
($3,000)  firmly  by  these  presents. 

In  Witness  whereof  the  said  parties  hereto  have  hereunto   set 
their  hands  and  seals  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 
In  presence  of 

EDWARD  TYRO  ( «*AME8  JOHNSON,          [Seal/ 

to  both.  i  SMITH  BROTHERS.        [Seal.] 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  A  TOWN-HALL. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  third  division  of  our  subject  will  treat  of  a  more  complicated 
piece  of  construction  than  either  of  the  preceding,  and  will  lead  us 
into  the  consideration  of  stresses  and  the  resistances  of  materials  in 
a  way  which  should  be  familiar  to  every  young  architect.  The 
habit  of  analyzing  designs-  with  regard  to  their  merit  as  structures 
is  one  of  the  most  valuable  that  such  persons  can  form.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  importance  of  acquiring  that  constructor's  instinct 
which  is  the  best  safeguard  against  the  slips  that  often  bring  dis- 
credit upon  the  most  highly  trained  men,  this  same  constructor's  in- 
stinct, built  up,  so  to  speak,  by  the  constant  consideration  and 
appreciation  of  weights,  thrusts  and  resistances,  is  the  main  element 
of  power  in  architectural  design.  A  certain  amount  of  prettiness, 
and  even  of  theatrical  picturesqueness,  is  within  the  reach  of  the 
architect  who  cares  and  knows  nothing  about  the  concealed  con- 
struction which  is  to  hold  up  his  pretended  arches  and  lintels, 
but  the  mind  soon  tires  of  detected  sham,  while  it  finds  ever  increas- 
ing pleasure  in  the  masterly  ease  and  originality  which  come  from 
the  skilful  handling  of  brick,  stone  and  wood  as  materials  to  be 
frankly  used  in  satisfying  the  various  conditions  of  modern  struct- 
ures. With  us,  unfortunately,  certain  important  classes  of  building, 
such,  for  instance,  as  city  dwelling-houses,  have  fallen  into  a  routine 
of  construction,  which,  if  not  positively  vicious,  offers  at  least  few 
opportunities  for  the  solution  of  novel  problems;  so  that  it  is  all  the 
more  important  for  the  younger  members  of  the  profession  to  seek 
out  and  study  special  constructions,  in  order  to  keep  their  minds 
prepared  for  the  difficult  programmes  which  will  sooner  or  later  be 
set  before  them. 


270  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

How  this  maybe  done  can  best  be  shown  by  means  of  an  example 
which  is  to  be  considered  in  the  way  in  which  an  intelligent  architect 
would  either  study  the  details  of  his  owg  design,  or  would  criticise 
the  work  of  another.  The  problem  chosen  is  that  of  a  town-hall, 
measuring  seventy-five  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  containing 
municipal  offices  in  the  basement  and  first  story,  and  a  single  large 
room  above  for  public  entertainments.  This  room  is  divided  into 
auditorium  and  stage  by  a  brick  wall,  the  proscenium-arch  being  a 
real  construction  of  stone.  The  thrust  of  the  arch  is  resisted  on  one 
Bide  by  the  weight  of  a  tower,  which  rises  to  a  considerable  height 
above  the  roof,  and  contains  a  fire-proof  staircase,  as  well  as  a  ven- 
tilating shaft,  and  on  the  other  by  the  wall  of  a  small  dressing-room. 
Opposite  the  proscenium-arch  is  the  gallery,  under  which  is  the 
main  staircase,  with  ante-rooms  on  each  side.  The  auditorium  is 
covered  by  an  open-timber  roof,  with  hammer-beams  and  curved 
braces,  while  the  stage  and  gallery  have  roofs  of  simpler  construc- 
tion. The  exterior  walls  are  of  brick,  with  strings,  lintels  and  other 
work  of  stone,  and  all  interior  walls  are  of  brick,  except  a  few  light 
framed  partitions. 

In  order  to  shorten  the  calculations  as  much  as  possible,  the  floor- 
plan  is  made  extremely  simple;  the  object  being  merely  to  illustrate 
principles.  The  structure  is  to  stand  on  piles,  driven  through  made 
ground  to  a  stratum  which,  although  not  possessing  great  resistance, 
forms  the  best  foundation  within  reach ;  and  as  it  is  essential  to  cut 
off  the  piles  under  the  water-line,  which  is  here  fifteen  feet  below 
the  curb,  this  distance  will  be  the  height  of  the  foundation-walls,  in- 
cluding the  footings.  As  usual  in  all  brildings,the  plan  of  the  upper 
story  determines  that  of  the  sub-structure,  and  the  distribution  of 
the  weights  and  thrusts  of  the  proscenium-arch  and  roof  must  be 
the  first  step  toward  the  laying  out  of  the  foundation-plan. 

We  will  make  our  provisional  plan  without  windows  or  parti- 
tions, since  the  latter  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the  distribution 
of  the  former,  and  these  again  upon  the  spacing  of  the  roof- 
trusses,  which  is  yet  to  be  decided.  Figure  175  shows  therefore 
the  outline  of  the  main  walls  of  the  first  story,  and  Figure  1 76  those 
of  the  second  story ;  the  tower  and  the  other  cross-wall  which  serves 
as  abutment  to  the  great  arch  being  indicated,  as  well  as  the  out 
line  of  the  roof. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


271 


As  we  wish,  for  the  sake  of  greater  security  against  fire,  to 
cut  off  the  upper  portion  of  the  stage  entirely  from  the  auditorium, 
by  carrying  the  proscenium-wall  through  the  roof,  the  profile  of  the 
roof  will  determine  that  of  the  wall,  which  will,  however,  project  a 

foot  or  more  be- 
yond the  slates. 
This  being  fixed, 
together  with  the 
heights  of  the  va- 
rious stories,  we 
must  design  the 
prosceniu  m 
opening,  taking 
into  considera 
tion  the  propor- 
tions of 


$fory  'Ph.n. 


height 


Fig.   175 

and  width  which  we  desire  it  to  have,  and  the  consequent  pressure 
which  must  be  resisted.  This  will  give  us  the  length  of  the  cross- 
walls  which  form  its  abutment  on  each  side. 

We  may  next  study  the  main  walls,  first  determining  the  thickness 
required  for  stability  under  the  given  conditions  of  height  and  length, 
and  then  adding 
to  this  whatever 
additional  mass 
may  be  neces- 
sary, either  in 
the  form  of  ex- 
tra thickness  or 
of  internal  or 
external  but- 
tresses, to  resist 
such  horizontal 


thrust  as  may  be  * 

Fig.  I/O. 

exerted   by  any 

portion  of  the  roofing.  This  will  involve  the  consideration  of  the 
trusses  for  various  portions  of  the  roof,  and  the  fixing  of  such  forms 
and  spacing  as  best  meet  the  conditions  to  be  fulfilled.  The  choice 
among  the  different  modes  of  buttressing  may  depend  here  on  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


effect  wliL-h  we  wish  to  secure  in  elevation,  since  so  far  as  interior 
convenience  or  acoustic  effect  is  concerned  it  makes  little  or  no 
difference  whether  the  pressure  of  the  roof  is  resisted  by  the  mass 
of  a  plain  wall, 
by  internal  pilas- 
ters, external  but- 
tresses, or  the 
weight  of  pinna- 
cles. 

As  the  form  of 
the  wall  above, 
and  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  weights 
upon  it,  whatever 
may  be  its  plan, 
in  u  s  t  substan- 
tially determine 
those  of  the  wall 
below  it,  we  shall 
now  have  the 
main  features  of 
the  exterior  ma- 
sonry, and  can 
go  on  confidently 
with  the  study 
of  the  elevations.  ^ 

Thethicknessand  "  Fie-  m' 

position  of  the  interior  walls  and  piers  will,  however,  depend  some- 
what on  the  mode  of  supporting  the  floors,  and  this  point  should  be 
generally  fixed  upon  at  the  outset,  more  accurate  determinations 
being  made  subsequently.  There  is  not  much  danger  in  such  a 
building  of  imposing  too  great  a  crushing  strain  upon  any  of  the 
materials,  but  it  is  best  to  keep  the  strength  of  brickwork  and  stone 
in  mind,  and  to  guard  against  diminishing  unduly  the  size  of  piers 
between  openings,  either  external  or  internal. 

In  order,  however,  that  our  conception  of  the  problem  to  be  solved 
may  include  all  the  essential  conditions,  we  must,  before  proceeding 
beyond  the  most  general  outline  of  our  design,  know  something  of 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  273 

the  foundation  which  is  to  support  our  building,  and  this  will  be  all 
the  more  necessary  in  the  present  case,  since  the  bearing  stratum 
to  which  the  piles  are  to  be  driven  is  not  of  very  firm  consistency. 

If  we  proposed  to  put  an  unusual  weight  on  any  part  of  the  founda- 
tion, by  carrying  the  tower  to  a  considerable  height,  or  in  any  other 
way,  it  would  be  necessary,  besides  driving  trial  piles  at  different 
points  within  the  site  of  the  intended  structure,  to  show  the  hardness 
of  the  bearing  stratum,  to  ascertain  also  its  thickness,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  material  below  it,  by  boring  through  it  with  an  auger  which 
will  bring  up  in  its  hollow  a  portion  of  the  formations  which  it 
traverses,  but  our  building  being  considerably  lighter  than  others  in 
its  neighborhood,  which  have  stood  for  years  safely  on  foundations 
about  which  no  special  precautions  were  taken,  we  need  hardly 
fear  the  disruption  of  the  bearing  stratum  itself  under  the  weight  of 
the  building,  provided  the  load  is  so  distributed  over  the  piles  that 
none  of  these  will  settle  after  the  structure  is  completed.  Just  how 
much  weight  can  safely  be  placed  on  each  pile  under  our  building 
cannot  be  known  until  they  are  actually  driven,  since  the  consistency 
of  a  bearing  stratum  such  as  we  have  to  deal  with  varies  greatly  in 
different  parts  of  a  given  area,  but  we  can  form  an  approximate 
opinion  by  observing  the  driving  of  those  for  works  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. We  will  therefore  inspect  for  a  few  minutes  the  operations 
taking  place  in  the  cellar  of  a  new  block  of  stores  near  by.  The 
piling  for  one  of  the  party-walls  is  just  started,  and  we  observe  that 
the  length  necessary  to  reach  the  bearing  stratum  is  about  thirty-five 
feet.  The  piles  are  of  spruce,  most  of  them  perfectly  straight,  al- 
though we  notice  some  crooked  ones  being  hastily  rolled  to  an  incon- 
spicuous position  as  we  approach.  We  see  one  swung  under  the 
hammer  of  the  machine,  and  the  driving  begun.  The  pile  sinks 
rapidly,  and  at  a  nearly  uniform  rate,  through  the  gravel  filling,  until 
its  head  is  within  two  feet  of  the  surface  of  the  ground,  when  the 
blows  are  seen  to  meet  with  greater  resistance ;  the  hammer  rebounds, 
and  the  ground  is  felt  to  quiver,  while  the  sinking  of  the  pile  under 
each  stroke  is  but  five  or  six  inches,  instead  of  a  foot  or  so.  The 
shaking  of  the  ground  indicates  that  the  bearing  stratum  in  that  place 
is  thin,  and  there  is  danger  that  it  may  be  broken  through,  so  the 
foreman  orders  a  man  to  climb  half-way  up  the  machine  and  de. 
tach  the  hammer  by  hand,  so  as  to  lessen  the  distance  through  which 


274  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

it  falls,  and  with  it  the  force  of  its  impact  upon  the  head  of  the  pile. 
Stepping  up  to  the  machine,  we  now  ascertain  the  rate  at  which  the 
pile  sinks  under  the  blows,  by  marking  on  one  of  the  standards  with  an 
old  nail  the  position  of  the  'top  of  the  Jjammer  after  two  successive 
blows,  and  measuring  the  distance  between  them.  For  two  blows 
the  sinking  is  five  inches,  then  it  falls  to  four,  and  then  to  three  inches. 
The  next  stroke  drives  it  three  inches  more,  and  the  foreman  gives 
the  signal  to  stop.  As  the  machine  is  being  shifted  to  a-'  new  place 
we  inquire  the  weight  of  the  hammer,  and  learn  that  it  is  1650 
pounds,  and  we  ascertain,  also,  that  the  height  from  the  ground  to 
the  point  at  which  it  was  detached  for  the  last  few  blows  is  15  feet. 
We  have  now  the  data  for  determining  the  weight  which  can  be 
placed  upon  the  head  without  fear  of  its  sinking  under  it,  by  Sanders's 
formula,  FJH  _  ^ 

in  which  .F=Fall  of  the  hammer  in  inches. 
5  =  Sinking  at  last  blow  in  inches. 
H=.  Weight  of  hammer  in  pounds. 
W=  Safe  weight  in  pounds. 
In  our  case  F=180;  #=1650;  5=3;  and  the  formula  gives 

1808?^1g50=12375  pounds,  which  is  the  safe  weight  required.     The 

next  pile,  with  the  same  fall  and  the  same  hammer,  sinks  only  two 
inches  at  the  last  blow,  which,  if  substituted  in  the  formula,  would 

give  18gX  ^5°  =  18562.5  pounds  as  the  safe  weight.  Most  of  the 
piles,  however,  give  a  minimum  sinking  of  three  inches,  further 
driving  increasing  rather  than  diminishing  the  rate,  by  the  penetra- 
tion, as  the  foreman  informs  us,  of  the  bearing  stratum ;  and  the 
corresponding  safe  load  of  12,375  pounds  must  be  accepted  for  the 
present  as  the  standard  upon  which  our  calculations  should  be  based. 
We  notice  that  the  piles  for  the  party-wall  are  being  driven  in  a 
double  row,  spaced  two  feet  apart  from  centres  in  the  direction 
transverse  to  the  line  of  the  wall  and  three  feet  from  centres  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  wall;  and,  curious  to  learn  what  load  the  un- 
known builder  proposes  to  place  on  them,  we  ask  to  see  the  plans, 
which  are  in  a  tool-chest  on  another  part  of  the  ground.  These 
show  a  row  of  three-story  stores  with  finished  basements,  each  23 
feet  wide  from  party-line  to  party-line.  The  walls  scale  45  feet 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  275 

high  from  the  curb-level,  and  we  know  that  the  depth  from  this  level 
to  the  top  of  the  piles  must  be  15  feet.  As  the  party-walls  have  no 
pressure  of  earth  to  support,  they  have  but  two  courses  of  stone 
footings;  one,  immediately  above  the  piles,  being  3  feet  wide  and  18 
inches  high,  while  the  second  is  2  feet  wide  and  also  18  inches  high. 
This  is  equivalent,  in  a  rough  estimation  of  weights,  to  an  addition 
of  4  feet  6  inches  to  the  height  of  the  wall,  which,  above  the  foot- 
ings, is  of  brick,  12  inches  thick,  making  the  virtual  height  of  the 
wall  64  feet  6  inches.  At  112  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot,  which  is  a 
fair  estimate  for  brickwork,  but  low  for  stone-work,  the  weight  of 
each  foot  in  length  of  the  wall  will  be  7,224  pounds.  To  this  must 
be  added  the  weight  of  the  floors  and  roof  and  the  probable  loads 
upon  them,  which  in  a  retail  country  store  may  safely  be  taken  at 
100  pounds  to  the  square  foot.  The  roof,  which  in  this  case  is 
covered  with  tar  and  gravel,  will  require  about  the  same  allowance. 
The  clear  span  of  the  floors  is  22  feet,  and  the  party-wall  supports 
half  the  floor  on  each  side  of  it,  or  22  feet  in  all.  Counting  that  of 
the  basement,  which  is  framed  just  like  the  others,  there  are  four 
floors  besides  the  roof,  and  the  total  floor  and  roof  load  supported 
by  each  foot  in  length  of  the  party-wall  will  therefore  be  5  X  22  X 
100=11000  pounds.  The  weight  of  each  foot  of  the  wall  itself, 
as  we  just  ascertained,  is  7224  pounds,  so  that  the  total  pressure  at 
the  bottom  of  the  wall  is  18224  pounds  to  each  foot  in  length.  The 
piles  being  spaced  2  feet  apart  transversely,  and  3  feet  longitudi- 
nally, there  are  but  two  piles  under  every  3  feet  in  length  of  the 
wall;  so  that  each  pair  of  piles  has  to  support  3  X  18224  =  54672 
pounds  of  wall  and  floor  load,  making  27336  pounds  to  each  pile- 
But  we  have  ascertained  by  Sanders's  formula  that  the  safe  weight 
upon  the  piles  under  the  conditions  which  we  find  to  exist  is  but 
12,375  pounds;  so  that  if  the  plans  are  carried  out  they  will  be 
loaded  to  more  than  double  their  safe  capacity.  After  satisfying  our- 
selves that  our  calculations  are  correct,  we  call  the  attention  of  the 
foreman  of  the  pile-drivers  to  them.  He  shrugs  his  shoulders  at 
first,  and  mutters  something  about  "book-larnin,"  and  "practical 
men,"  but  is  finally  brought  to  admit  that  if  the  building  had  been 
his,  he  would,  considering  the  softness  of  the  ground,  have  put  a 
triple  instead  of  a  double  row  of  piles  under  the  wall,  and  made  the 
spacing  in  each  direction  2  feet,  which  is  as  near  together  as  long 


276  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

piles  can  be  driven  without  danger  that  they  may  force  each  other 
up  from  their  solid  bed  on  the  bearing  stratum.  This  would  give 
3  piles  for  the  support  of  every  2  feet  of  wall,  and  would  bring  tha 
load  on  each  within  the  safe  limit.  "  IJowever,"  the  foreman  adds, 
in  a  burst  of  confidence,  "  I  aint  got  nothin'  to  do  with  that.  They 
give  me  the  piling  plans,  and  I  go  by  'em ;  and  anyhow,  I  guess 
these  are  only  speculation  buildin's."  That  they  are  likely  in  this 
case  to  fulfil  the  condition  required  of  them  —  to  hold  themselves 
up  until  they  are  sold — we  cannot  deny,  and  we  forbear  to  meddle 
further  with  what  is  clearly  not  our  business. 

Nevertheless,  we  should  be  sorry  to  run  the  risk  of  seeing  in  our 
own  building  after  a  few  years  the  evidences  of  incipient  settlement, 
the  joints  of  the  brickwork  opening,  and  the  lintels  and  interior 
plastering  cracking ;  and  we  resolve  to  keep  the  weights  on  the 
piles  within  the  safe  litnit. 

We  are  now  ready  to  put  the  drawings  into  definite  shape.  Be- 
ginning with  the  proscenium-arch,  whose  form  we  wish  first  to 
determine,  we  consider  what  requirements  of  width  and  height  it  is 
necessary  to  conform  to,  and  reflect  that  as  the  hall  will  often  be 
used  for  balls,  fairs  and  other  entertainments,  which  will  fill  it  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  it  is  desirable  to  make  the  proscenium  opening  as 
wide  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  stage  may  not  be  too  much  sepa- 
rated on  such  occasions  from  the  auditorium.  Allowing  only  a  small 
projection  on  the  inside  of  the  tower  wall,  with  an  abutting  wall  on 
the  other  side  of  the  arch  of  the  same  width,  we  shall  have  an 
opening  of  44  feet  in  width,  which  is  ample  for  our  purpose.  The 
height,  however,  is  restricted  by  the  consideration  that  the  height  of 
ordinary  theatrical  scenery  is  limited,  and  it  is  desirable  to  avoid  the 
necessity  for  wide  "  sky  borders  "  to  fill  the  space  between  the  top  of 
the  scenes  and  the  soffit  of  the  arch;  while  it  is  also  of  importance  in 
checking  the  spread  of  fire  from  the  upper  portion  of  the  stage  to  the 
auditorium  not  to  make  the  proscenium  opening  unnecessarily  lofty. 
A  glance  is  sufficient  to  show  us  that  the  arch,  loaded  as  it  is  most  heav- 
ily at  the  crown,  must  have  considerable  rise,  unless  it  is  made  of  scg- 
mental  form,  which  would  involve  a  thrust  beyond  the  power  of  the 
limited  abutments  to  support  with  safety.  We  will  for  the  first  trial 
give  the  arch  an  elliptical  shape,  making  the  rise  14£  feet,  with  44 
feet  span,  and  taking  the  depth  of  the  arch-stones  at  3  feet.  Laying 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  277 

out  the  arch  and  the  wall  above  it  in  elevation  at  a  lar^e  scale  wa  hare 
the  elements  necessary  for  determining  approximately  its  stability. 
A  diagram  of  one-half  the  arch  is  sufficient,  as  it  is  symmetrically 
shaped  and  loaded,  so  that  the  line  of  pressure  will  be  the  same  on 
each  side  of  the  centre. 

This  line  will  show  us  the  direction  of  all  the  forces  which  act  upon 
the  arch  and  its  abutments,  and  if  it  fulfils  two  essential  conditions 
the  arch  and  its  abutments  will  be  stable ;  if  not  they  will  be  danger- 
ously weak  or  fail  altogether. 

These  requirements  are  : — 

1.  The  curve  of  pressures  in  the  arch  must  lie  wholly  within  the 
middle  third  of  the  voussoirs. 

2.  The  line  of  pressure  prolonged  through  the  abutment  must 
strike  well  within  the  base  of  the  abutment. 

The  reasons  for  these  will  be  readily  seen.  If  the  line  of  press- 
ure passes  through  the  central  line  of  the  voussoirs,  the  crushing 
strain  due  to  it  will  be  equally  distributed  over  the  surface  of  each 
joint,  but  any  deviation  from  a  central  position  gives  an  inequality 
in  the  distribution  of  the  strain  which  increases  very  rapidly  with 
the  variation  of  the  pressure-curve  from  the  central  line.  So  long 
as  the  curve  remains  within  the  middle  third  of  the  depth  of  the 
voussoirs,  the  strain  upon  each  joint  is  one  of  compression  only,  al- 
though it  may  be  unequally  distributed;  but  when  it  reaches  the  limit  of 
the  middle  third,  the  crushing  strain  at  the  nearest  edge  of  the  joint 
is  twice  as  great  as  when  equally  distributed,  while  that  on  the  more 
remote  edge  is  reduced  to  zero ;  and  beyond  this,  while  the  compres- 
sion of  the  nearer  edge  is  increased  to  a  hazardous  extent,  the  strain 
on  the  other  edge  passes  into  one  of  tension,  which,  if  there  should 
be  any  opportunity  for  movement,  will  open  the  joints,  and  bend  and 
dislocate  the  arch  until  it  falls.  This  is  a  fatal  defect,  and  the  bound- 
aries of  the  middle  third  of  the  voussoir,  beyond  which  the  p/essure 
line  cannot  pass  without  producing  a  tensile  strain  either  at  the  ex- 
trados  or  intrados,  must  be  strictly  regarded. 

The  second  requirement,  that  the  resultant  of  all  the  forces  acting 
upon  the  abutment  must  strike  within  its  base,  is  obviously  a  neces- 
sary one,  for  otherwise  the  effect  of  the  combined  pressures  would  be 
to  overturn  the  abutment,  as  often  occurs  with  arches  carelessly  de- 
signed. If  the  abutment  were  a  solid  and  unyielding  mass,  it  would 


278 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


be  stable  if  the  pressure  curve 
the  base,  even  at  the  extreme 
the  resistance  is  always  given 
kind  made  up  of  small  blocks, 
cement  which  may  be 
or  less  degree;   and 
applied  too  near  the 
to  crush  or  distort  it, 
grate    it,    so 
require    that 
an  abutment 
standing  on 


J  T 

the  distance  between  this  outside 
where  a  vertical  line  passing 
gravity  of  the  abutment  would  in- 

To  determine  the  line  of  press- 
will  take  the  following  method, 
accurate,  and  is  applicable  to 
and  loaded  in  any  manner. 

Figure  1 78  shows  one-half  of  the 
above  it  in  elevation,  to  scale. 


fell  anywhere  within 
edge;  but  in  practice 
by  masonry  of  some 
united  by  mortar  or 
compressed  in  a  greater 
the  effect  of  a  pressure 
edge  of  such  a  mass  is 
and  finally  to  disinte- 
that  the  usual  rule  is  to 
the  pressure-curve  in 
of  stone  or  brick  work, 
a  horizontal  base,  shall 
strike  the  base  at  a 
point  not  nearer  to  the 


Fig.  178. 


outside  face  of  the 
abutment  than  half 
face  and  the  point 
through  the  centre  of 
tersect  the  base, 
ure  for  our  arch  we 
which  is  sufficiently 
arches  of  any  form, 

arch     and     the    wall 
We  begin  by  dividing 


the  arch  and  its  load  into  slices  by  vertical  lines.     The  slices  may 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  279 

be  of  any  width,  but  it  saves  trouble  in  computation  for  a  large  arch 
to  make  them  each  two  feet  wide  as  far  as  possible  from  the  centre 
line.  If  the  span  of  arch  is  not  a  multiple  of  2  feet,  the  width  of  the 
last  slice  but  one  will  be  a  fraction  of  two  feet.  The  inner  ed^e  oi 
the  last  slice,  marked  X,  must  just  touch  the  springing  of  the  arch, 
and  the  outer  edge  must  touch  the  extrados  of  the  first  voussoir.  In 
the  present  case,  the  bed  of  the  first  \oussoir  being  horizontal,  and 
the  depth  three  feet,  the  width  of  the  slice  X  will  also  be  three  feet. 

We  have  now  to  find  the  vertical  line  in  which  lies  the  centre  of 
gravity  of  each  of  these  slices,  and  from  that  the  vertical  drawn 
through  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  entire  half-arch  and  its  load. 
If  the  slices  are  taken  small  enough,  the  centre  of  gravity  may 
without  appreciable  error  be  assumed  to  lie  in  a  vertical  drawn 
midway  between  the  lines  bounding  the  slice,  and  we  have  only  to 
draw  the  short  lines  shown  in  that  position.  The  relative  weight  of 
each  slice  is  next  to  be  obtained,  and  as  in  a  wall  of  homogeneous 
masonry  this  will  be  proportional  to  the  areas  of  the  slices,  we  need 
only  calculate  these,  leaving  the  thickness  of  the  wall  and  the  weight 
per  cubic  foot  as  constant  factors,  to  be  supplied  in  case  we  wish  to 
determine  any  actual  pressure  from  the  relative  ones  which  the  dia- 
gram will  give. 

Measuring  with  the  scale  the  length  of  the  two  vertical  sides  of 
each  slice,  dividing  their  sum  by  two  and  multiplying  by  the  width, 
will  give  their  areas  in  square  feet,  which  we  mark  as  shown. 

We  have  next,  for  the  sake  of  simplifying  our  work,  to  make  two 
assumptions,  which  experience  shows  to  be  justified,  although  they 
have  no  theoretical  foundation.  One  of  these  is  that  the  pressure* 
curve  passes  through  a  given  point  at  the  crown  of  the  arch ;  and 
the  other,  that  it  also  passes  through  a  given  point  at  the  springing. 
If  these  two  points  are  fixed,  the  rest  of  the  corresponding  curve  is 
easily  found,  and  for  ordinary  purposes  we  can  safely  suppose  them 
to  be  so  by  the  adhesion  of  the  mortar  and  general  inertia  of  the 
masonry.  For  a  semi-circular  or  semi-elliptical  arch,  which  natu- 
rally tends  to  rise  at  the  haunches  and  descend  at  the  crown,  it  is 
usual  to  make  these  points  coincide  with  the  outer  limit  of  the  middle 
third  of  the  voussoir  at  the  crown  and  springing,  as  at  C  and  5  in 
the  figure.  For  pointed  and  segmental  arches,  which  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances  tend  to  rise  at  the  crown  and  descend  at  the 


280  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

haunches,  the  points  fixed  should  coincide  with  the  inner  limit  of  the 
middle  third  of  these  voussoirs.  If,  however,  a  pointed  or  segmen- 
tal  arch  is  most  heavily. loaded  over,  the  crown,  so  that  its  natural 
disposition  to  rise  at  that  place  is  counteracted,  the  fixed  point  may 
be  at  the  outer  third,  either  at  the  crown  alone,  or  both  at  crown  and 
springing,  as  may  seem  best  suited  to  the  circumstances. 

In  the  case  of  our  elliptical  arch,  the  points  C  and  S  being  the 
ones  assumed  to  be  fixed,  we  will  prolong  the  centre  line  of  the 
arch  and  load  indefinitely  downward,  and  then  space  off  upon  it  in 
succession  the  weights  of  the  slices  of  the  arch  and  its  load,  or 
rather,  of  the  areas  which  stand  as  the  abbreviated  form  of  those 
weights.  Any  scale  may  be  taken,  as  these  dimensions  have  nothing 
to  do  with  those  of  the  arch  itself.  At  the  scale  we  adopt,  92,  the 
number  representing  the  area  of  the  first  slice,  will  extend  from  C  to 
1 ;  87£,  the  second  slice,  from  1  to  2;  and  so  on,  11-12  representing 
the  last  slice. 

Next,  take  a  point  0,  at  any  distance  to  the  left  of  the  line  C-12, 
and  opposite  its. middle  point;  draw  O  C,  O  1,  0  2,  and  so  on,  to  0 
12;  the  simplest  way  of  doing  this  being  to  draw  C  O  and  12  0  at 
45°  with  the  vertical,  which  will  give  O  at  their  intersection. 

Draw  now,  from  the  intersection  of  C  0  with  the  centre  line  of 
the  first  slice,  another  short  line,  P  Q,  parallel  to  0  1,  until  it  inter- 
sects the  centre  line  of  the  second  slice ;  then  from  this  point,  paral- 
lel with  O  2,  to  the  centre  of  the  third  slice,  and  so  on,  the  last  line, 
X  Y,  being  parallel  to  0  11.  From  Fdraw  a  line  downward  paral- 
lel to  0  12,  until  it  intersects  C  0  at  G.  A  vertical  drawn  through 
G  will  pass  through  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  arch  and  its  load. 

If  the  half-arch  and  its  load  were  in  a  single  piece,  supported  at 
5,  they  would  be  acted  upon  by  three  forces,  namely :  — 

A  horizontal  pressure,  proceeding  from  the  key  of  the  arch,  and 
caused  by  the  push  of  the  other  half-arch ;  the  force  of  gravitation, 
acting  vertically  on  the  line  of  the  centre  of  gravity ;  and  the  reac- 
tion of  the  abutment,  which  serves  to  oppose  the  other  forces  and 
maintain  the  whole  in  equilibrium.  These  three  forces  must  meet  at 
a  common  point,  since  otherwise  they  would  not  balance  each  other ; 
and  as  the  horizontal  and  vertical  forces  are  fixed  in  direction,  this 
point  must  be  at  their  intersection,  or  at  F.  We  have  already  as- 
sumed that  the  line  of  pressure  in  the  abutment,  which  is  the  same 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  281 

as  the  line  of  reaction  against  the  pressure,  shall  pass  through  S, 
hence,  as  F  is  already  found,  F  S  must  show  the  direction  of  the 
thrust  at  S.  We  have  yet  to  find  the  amount  of  the  pressure ;  but 
we  know  that,  like  every  other  oblique  force,  it  can  be  decomposed 
into  a  vertical  and  a  horizontal  pressure,  which  will  be  represented 
by  the  adjacent  sides  of  a  rectangle  of  which  the  original  force 
forms  the  diagonal ;  and  as  the  vertical  component  is  obviously  equiv- 
alent to  the  sum  of  the  weights  of  the  small  slices  of  the  arch  and 
its  load,  which  furnish  the  only  vertical  pressures,  and  are  already 
laid  out  from  C  to  12,  we  have  simply  to  take  F  T,  equal  to  C  12, 
and  draw  the  horizontal  T  Jt  intersecting  the  prolongation  of  FS 
at  J.  Then  J  F,  at  the  scale  to  which  the  other  pressures  are 
drawn,  shows  the  amount  and  direction  of  the  oblique  reaction  act- 
ing through  S,  and  applied  at  F,  and  F  T  and  T  ,7  show  the  amount 
of  the  vertical  weight  and  horizontal  thrust  by  which  it  is  balanced 
at  that  point. 

The  arch  and  its  load  not  being,  however,  a  solid  mass,  but  com- 
posed of  small  parts,  mutually  wedged  against  and  supporting  each 
other,  the  actual  direction  of  the  pressures  is  not  the  broken  line 
C  F  S,  but  a  curve,  or  rather  a  curved  series  of  short  straight  lines, 
coinciding  with  C  F  S  only  at  the  extremities  C  and  S,  and  varying 
in  direction  with  the  gradually  accumulating  weight  of  the  succes- 
sive slices  of  the  arch  and  its  load  from  the  centre.  To  facilitate 
the  drawing  of  the  diagram,  we  prolong  F  C  horizontally,  and  draw 
12  W  parallel  to  J  F.  As  C  12  is  equal  to  F  T,  C  W  is  equal  to 
/  T,  and,  like  it,  represents  the  horizontal  thrust  at  the  key  of  the 
arch,  while  12  IV  represents  the  oblique  pressure  at  the  springing  S. 
The  pressures  at  successive  points  in  the  arch  will  then  be  repre- 
sented, both  in  direction  and  amount,  by  lines  intermediate  between 
these  two,  and  if  we  draw  to  W  lines  from  the  points  1,  2,  3,  and  so 
on,  which  correspond  to  the  weights  on  the  central  lines  of  the  slices 
of  the  arch  and  its  load,  we  shall  have  the  successive  directions  of 
the  curve  of  pressures  at  its  intersection  with  those  lines.  Nothing 
then  remains  but  to  draw  C  L  horizontally,  L  M  parallel  to  1  W, 
M  N  parallel  to  2  W  and  so  on  to  S,  where  the  line  will  coincide 
with  that  previously  found. 

By  referring  to  the  diagram,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  compressive 
strain  upon  the  arch-stones  grows  continually  greater  from  the  crown 


282  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

to  the  springing,  the  horizontal  component  remaining  always  the 
same,  while  the  vertical  component  increases. 

Having  found  the  line  of  pressures,^  remains  to  see  whether  it  is 
contained  in  the  middle  third  of  the  voussoirs.  A  glance  shows  us 
that  this  is  not  the  case,  and  the  arch  is  impracticable. 

If  it  were  built  it  would  bend  outward  at  jR,  and  sink  at  the  crown ; 
the  inner  edge  of  the  voussoirs  would  crush  at  the  poinlJs  where  they 
are  crossed  by  the  pressure-curve,  and  the  whole  would  fall. 

There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  design  a  new  arch,  and  as  the  curve 
of  pressures  varies  with  every  form  of  arch,  a  new  curve  must  be 
constructed  for  each.  After  trying  an  ellipse  of  greater  rise,  and 
then  a  circle,  all  in  vain,  we  are  led  to  the  pointed  arch,  as  being  the 
only  one  adapted  for  a  large  span,  with  the  maximum  load  on  the 
crown,  and  by  laying  out  such  a  curve,  as  shown  in  Figure  1 79,  we  suc- 
ceed in  passing  the  curve  entirely  through  the  middle  third  of  the 
voussoirs,  taking  these  at  three  feet  long. 

We  have  now  three  more  points  to  determine :  1.  Whether  the 
abutment  is  sufficient,  to  resist  the  thrust  of  the  arch  safely.  2. 
Whether  the  pressure  upon  any  arch-stone  will  be  so  great  as  to  risk 
crushing  it ;  and  3.  Whether  the  inclination  at  which  the  pressure  is 
applied  upon  any  voussoir,  or  any  course  of  masonry  in  the  abutment, 
is  so  great  that  the  superincumbent  mass  will  be  in  danger  of  sliding 
on  it,  instead  of  simply  pressing  against  it.  As  we  have  seen,  the  di- 
rection of  the  thrust  of  the  arch  at  its  springing  is  shown  by  the  line 
F Sj  and  if  the  arch  and  its  load  were  required  to  be  held  in  equilib- 
rium by  an  inclined  column,  for  instance,  the  line  J  S  would  show 
the  position  of  the  axis  of  the  column.  We  have  here,  however,  to 
resist  the  thrust,  not  a  rigid  support,  but  amass  of  considerable 
weight,  which  will  add  a  vertical  pressure  due  to  this  weight,  to  the 
inclined  thrust,  modifying  its  direction  as  well  as  its  amount,  and  we 
must  find  the  modified  direction  of  the  pressure  before  we  can  deter- 
mine whether  it  will  fall  upon  the  base  of  the  abutment  so  far  within 
its  outer  face  as  we  have  found  to  be  required  for  perfect  safety. 

Strictly,  the  modified  line  of  thrust  through  the  abutment  would  be 
a  curve,  since  the  vertical  component  accumt'lates  as  we  follow  the 
pressure  line  away  from  the  springing  of  the  arch;  but  for  our  pres- 
ent purpose  we  need  only  ascertain  the  point  and  direction  of  its 
application  at  the  base  of  the  abutment.  To  do  this,  it  is  sufficient, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


283 


instead  of  dividing  the  abutment  into  successive  portions  and  calcu- 
lating the  modification  in  the  thrust  due  to  the  weight  of  the  arch,  to 


regard  the  whole  abutment 
weight  will  give  the  verti- 
necd  to  fix  the  final  direc- 
lecting    the    slice   of    the 
inner  face  and  a  vertical 
extrados  of  the 
since  the  weight 
thrust,  the    re- 
a       trapezoidal 
to  find  the  posi- 


ptlnt  B  of  one  diagonal,  and  setting 
off  at  A  on  the  other  diagonal  the 
distance  from  the  lower  corner  of 
the  trapezoid  equal  to  the  distance 
from  the  upper  corner  of  the  trap- 
ezoid to  the  point  of  intersection  of 


as  a  single  mass  whose 
cal  component  which  we 
tion  of  the  thrust.  Neg- 
abutment  between  its 
line  dropped  from  the 
arch  at  the  springing, 
of  this  does  not  affect  the 
maining  portion  will  have 
shape,  and  we  proceed 
tion  of  its  centre  of  grav- 
ity by  drawing  the  two  di- 
agonals of  the  trapezoid, 
and  finding  the  middle 


Fig.  179. 


the  two  diagonals ;  then  connecting  B  with  A.  and  dividing  D  A  into 


284  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

throe  equal  parts,  the  first  point  of  division,  F,  showing  the  position 
of  the  centre  of  gravity,  as  required.  From  V  we  now  drop  a 
vertical  line  intersecting  .the  pressure-line  S  J  at  K,  this  will  give 
the  point  of  application  of  the  vertical  component  of  the  new  press- 
ure-line. To  determine  the  amount  of  this  component,  we  measure 
the  area  of  the  abutment  trapezoid  as  has  already  been  done  with 
the  slices  of  the  arch  and  its  load,  and  obtain  507  as  the  result.  We 
lay  this  off  from  12  to  13,  on  the  same  vertical  line  that  measures  the 
vortical  pressures  of  the  slices  of  the  arch  and  its  load,  and  at  the 
same  scale,  and  then  draw  13  Wy  which  gives  the  direction  and 
amount  of  the  total  combined  pressures  of  the  arch,  load,  and  abut- 
ment. Transferring  the  direction  of  the  final  pressure  so  as  to  inter- 
sect K,  the  actual  point  of  application,  we  find  that  it  will  strike  the 
base  of  the  abutment  at  R,  which  is  nearer  the  vertical  dropped 
from  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  abutment  than  half  the  distance 
between  this  vertical  and  the  exterior  face  of  the  abutment,  and  the 
abutment  may  therefore  be  relied  upon  as  stable  under  the  given 
pressure. 

We  must  now  test  the  second  point  of  safety  in  our  arch,  and  as- 
certain whether  the  pressure  at  any  given  joint  is  greater  than  the 
stone  can  be  relied  upon  to  resist.  The  greatest  pressure,  as  we  see  at 
once  from  the  diagram,  is  at  the  springing  line.  Scaling  the  line  1 2  W> 
which  represents  this  pressure,  we  find  it  to  measure  1140,  at  the 
scale  of  this  part  of  the  diagram.  This,  however,  being  expressed 
in  terms  of  superficial  feet,  must  be  multiplied,  to  find  the  pressure 
which  it  represents,  by  the  number  of  pounds  which  a  portion  of 
the  wall  one  superficial  foot  in  area  will  weigh.  The  wall  is  16 
inches  thick,  and  at  112  pounds  per  cubic  foot  the  weight  required 
will  be  149  pounds.  The  total  stress  at  the  springing  will  be  there- 
fore 149  X  1140  =  169860  pounds.  The  area  of  the  joint  is  36  X  16 
=  576  square  inches,  and  the  pressure  will  therefore  average 
169860-^576  =  295  pounds,  which  is  far  within  the  limit  of  safety. 

The  determination  of  the  third  point,  whether  the  direction  of 
the  pressure  at  any  joint  is  such  as  to  cause  sliding,  can  be  only  ap- 
proximately made,  since  the  adhesion  of  the  mortar,  the  roughness 
of  the  stone,  and  many  other  elements,  will  enter  into  the  actual  re- 
sult, but  we  may  safely  assume  that  no  pressure  will  cause  sliding 
of  the  stone  voussoirs  winch  is  not  applied  at  a  greater  angle  than 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


285 


82°  with  a  normal  to  the  direction  of  the  joint.  Our  pressure-curve 
shows  that  the  angles  of  application  of  the  stress  are  all  well  within 
this  limit,  and  we  need  feel  no  uneasiness  in  regard  to  the  voussoirs. 
With  respect  to  the  joints  of  the  abutment,  however,  we  may  feel 
some  anxiety,  as  the  direction  of  the  pressure  for  the  courses  nearest, 
to  the  springing  of  the  arch  forms  an  angle  of  somewhat  more  than 
S2°  with  the  vertical ;  but  the  adhesion  of  the  mortar  to  biickwork 
is  far  greater  than  to  stone,  and  the  true  angle  of  safety  is  corre- 
spondingly increased,  so  that  if  we  take  the  precaution  of  delaying 
the  removal  of  the  centering  on  which  the  arch  is  built  until  the 
mortar  in  the  abutment  is  well  set,  we  need  have  no  apprehension 
as  to  the  result. 

Having  fixed  upon  the  shape  of  the  proscenium-arch,  and  made 
sure  of  the  stability  of  the  abutments,  we  will  next  determine  the 
construction  of  the  roof,  which  is  intimately  connected  with  the  dis- 
position of  the  wall  supporting  it.  For  the  sake  of  simplicity,  we 
decide  to  make  the  ridge  of  the  roof  level  throughout,  varying  only 
the  interior  construction  to  suit  the  means  of  support  at  our  dispo- 
sal, or  other  requirements. 

Over  the  stage, 
•where  no  sacrifice  need 
be  made  to  appear- 
ance, we  will  use  the 
simplest  and  cheapest 
devices,  covering  the 
central  span,  o  f  45 
feet,  with  a  truss  of 
the  form  shown  in 
Figure  180,  and  the 
rooms  at  the  side  withK 
plain  lean-to  roofs, 
with  tie-beams,  and 
uprights  next  the  wall, 
to  prevent  lateral 
pressure  upon  it,  and 
a  strut  to  prevent  the 

sagging  of  the  princi-  ?'**•  '80. 

pal  rafter.     This  rafter  will  form  a  continuation  of  the  rafter  of 


286 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


jot  Ycrflc»l 


main  truss,  so  as  to  bring  the  surface  of  the  roof  in  one  plane.  The 
auditorium  will  be  covered  by  an  ornamental  roof  in  one  span, 
and  the  upper  portion  of  this  will  be  continued  over  the  gallery  at 
the  rear,  the  ante-rooms  on  each  side  ofthe  gallery  being  covered  by 
the  gallery  floor. 

We  will  first  investigate  the  simplest  roofing,  that  over  the  stage. 
As  both  the  large  and  small  trusses  are  furnished  with  liprizontal  ties 
at  the  foot,  they  can  have  no  tendency  to  spread,  and  therefore  exert 
no  thrust  upon  the  walls  ;  so  that  we  shall  only  need  to  ascertain  the 
strains  upon  the  timbers  and  determine  the  necessary  sizes.  This 
we  will  do  here  only  for  the  central  truss,  A  E  F,  the  principle  be- 
ing the  same  for  all. 

We  have  first  to  find  the  total 
weight  which  the  roof  must  sustain. 
The  length  of  the  rafter  A  E  is  by 
the  scale  30  feet,  and  as  the  trusses 
are  spaced  12  feet  apart  from  centres 
this  rafter  will  have  to  sustain  12X30 
=  360  square  feet  of  roofing,  and 
whatever  extraneous  pressure  there 
may  be  upon  this  area,  such  as  that 
of  snow  and  wind.  The  other  raf- 
ter, A  F,  will  have  the  same  stress 
to  bear. 

It  will  be  best  to  consider  first  the 
vertical  stress  produced  by  the 
weighv  of  the  roof,  including  that 
of  snow  upon  it,  taking  afterwards 
the  oblique  stress  caused  by  wind.  The  weight  of  the  roof  itself, 
which  consists  simply  of  trusses,  purlins,  common  rafters,  boarding 
and  slate,  without  plastering  beneath  it,  may  be  taken  at  15  pounds 
to  the  square  foot.  If  the  roof  were  flat,  or  nearly  so,  a  load  of  wet 
snow  might  occasionally  be  added  to  this,  amounting  to  forty  pounds 
per  square  foot  as  a  maximum,  but  our  roof  being  inclined  at  an  an- 
gle of  about  52°  with  the  horizon,  the  snow  falling  upon  it  would  slide 
off  as  it  accumulated,  and  a  snow  load  of  15  pounds  to  the  foot  may 
safely  be  taken  as  the  greatest  to  which  it  will  ever  be  subjected. 
This  makes  the  total  weight  per  square  foot  of  roofing  30  pounds, 


Fig,  181. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  287 

and  the  rafter  A  E  must  therefore  be  calculated  to  sustain  a  vertical 
stress  of  360  X  30  =  10800  pounds.  The  load  on  the  other  rafter, 
A  F,  will  be  the  same,  making  the  whole  vertical  pressure  on  the 
truss  21600  pounds.  In  Figure  181,  express  this  weight  by  a  verti- 
cal line  from  A  to  B,  at  any  scale,  say  1000  pounds  to  the  inch. 
Find  the  centre,  C,  of  this  line.  As  the  truss  and  its  load  are  kept 
up  by  the  supports  on  which  they  rest,  the  upward  force  of  these 
supports,  or,  as  we  should  say,  their  reaction,  is  ju«t  equal  to  the 
weight  imposed  upon  them ;  or,  in  the  diagram,  half  the  roof  A  F 
and  its  load  presses  downward  with  the  force  A  C,  and  is  held  up 
by  the  force  C  A,  while  the  weight  on  the  other  half,  A  E,  is  C  B, 
and  is  sustained  by  R  C. 

We  must  now  make  another  division  of  the  vertical  line  A  B,  to 
indicate  the  proportionate  part  of  the  whole  weight  borne  by  each 
joint  in  the  truss.  Looking  first  at  the  rafter  A  F,  we  see  that  the 
joint  D  must  suffer  twice  as  much  strain  as  either  F  or  A,  be- 
cause it  sustains  an  area  of  roofing  extending  on  each  side  to  a  point 
midway  between  it  and  the  next  joint,  while  A  and  F  being  held, 
one  by  the  opposing  rafter  and  the  other  by  the  support  at  the  foot, 
each  carry  only  the  portion  between  them  and  the  point  half-way  to 
D.  Hence  in  the  diagram,  if  A  C  expresses  the  whole  weight  on  A 
F,  A  K  will  indicate  the  portion  borne  at  F,  K  I  will  show  that 
upon  D,  and  /  C  that  upon  A.  Then  C  G  will  show,  in  the  same 
way,  the  strain  at  A  upon  the  other  rafter,  A  E ;  G  E  that  upon  C, 
and  E  B  that  on  E.  We  have  now  all  the  data  from  which  to  de- 
termine the  stresses  on  the  other  pieces  of  the  truss,  each  of  which 
plays  a  part  in  sustaining  the  total  load.  Beginning  at  the  foot  F, 
of  the  rafter  A  F,  we  find  it  to  be  the  point  of  application  of  four 
different  forces,  the  first  being  the  reaction  of  the  support  on  which 
the  truss  rests  at  that  point,  indicated  by  C  A  on  the  stress-diagram; 
the  second  being  its  own  portion  of  the  weight,  shown,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  by  A  K;  the  third  being  an  oblique  pressure  passing  down 
the  rafter,  and  the  fourth  a  horizontal  pull  from  the  tie-beam.  The 
direction  and  amount  of  each  of  these  may  be  obtained  from  the 
diagram  as  follows:  Starting  from  C,  we  pass  upward  to  A,  over 
the  distance  which  represents  the  reaction  of  the  support  F,  and 
in  the  direction  of  that  reaction ;  then  down  again  to  K,  over  the 
space,  and  in  the  direction,  corresponding  to  the  share  of  the  verti- 


288  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

cal  load  supported  by  the  joint  F  :  from  K  we  draw  a  line,  K  D,  par- 
allel with  the  direction  of  the  rafter  A  F,  of  such  length  that  another 
line,  drawn  from  its  further  extremity^.parallel  with  the  direction  of 
the  tie-beam  F  E,  will  just  meet  the  point  C,  from  which  we  started. 
The  length  Of  the  line  K  D,  according  to  the  scale  to  which  the  dia- 
gram is  drawn,  will  then  give  the  number  of  pounds  of  longitudinal 
stress  along  the  rafter  from  D  to  F,  and  D  C  will  be  the  tensile  strain 
upon  the  tie-beam  between  F  and  B. 

To  distinguish  between  the  tensile  and  compressive  strains  we 
will  indicate  the  former  in  the  diagram  by  a  light  line,  and  the  lat- 
ter by  a  heavy  line  as  shown. 

In  the  same  way  we  find  the  stresses  upon  the  pieces  around  the 
joint  D,  in  the  middle  of  the  rafter  A  F.  We  know  already  the 
stress  upon  the  piece  D  F,  which  we  found  just  now  to  be  K  D  on  the 
diagram;  but  as  the  compressive  strain  upon  this  piece,  which  was  a 
downward  push  upon  the  joint  F,  is  an  upward  push  upon  the  joint 
D,  we  must  now  trace  it  in  a  direction  reversed  from  that  previously 
found,  and  starting  from  D  on  the  diagram,  follow  it  upward  to  K. 
From  K  we  have  another  known  force,  the  vertical  load  upon  the 
joint  D,  which  we  ascertained  at  the  beginning  to  be  equal  to  K  7, 
or  twice  as  great  as  A  K.  Following  this  strain,  then,  downward 
to  /,  we  have  left  two  unknown  forces,  that  on  the  upper  portion  of 
the  rafter  D  A,  and  on  the  strut  D  B,  both  of  which  are  applied  at 
D,  the  joint  whose  equilibrium  we  are  tracing.  These  are  found  in 
the  same  way  as  before,  drawing  /  H  parallel  to  A  D,  until  H  D 
parallel  to  B  D  will  close  on  D.  H  D  is  then  the  compressive  strain 
on  the  strut,  and  I  H  that  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  rafter,  and 
both  are  to  be  indicated  by  heavy  lines. 

The  next  strain  to  be  determined  is  that  on  the  king-rod  A  B. 
We  have  assumed  that  the  vertical  pressures  are  the  same  on  each  side 
of  the  roof,  and  the  stress-diagram  will  therefore  be  symmetrical, 
and  G  F  will  represent  the  stress  on  one  upper  rafter,  and  H  I  that 
on  the  other.  At  the  joint  A,  these  two  stresses,  together  with  the 
vertical  load  I  C  -f-  C  G,  or  I  G  and  the  pull  of  the  king  rod,  in- 
clude all  the  forces  applied  at  that  point,  and  starting  with  the 
known  stresses  //  /  and  I  G,  G  F,  symmetrical  with  //  /,  will  be  the 
strain  on  the  upper  rafter  C  A,  and  F  H,  drawn  parallel  with  the 
king-rod,  and  connecting  F  and  //,  will  represent  the  tensile  strain 
on  the  king-rod. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  289 

Measuring  with  the  scale  the  forces  thus  indicated,  we  shall  find 
as  follows :  — 

STRESSES    FOR    VERTICAL    LOAD. 

Tie  6400  Ibs.  Tension. 

King-Rod  6000    "  " 

Lower  Rafter  10300    "     Compression. 

Upper  Rafter    7000    " 

Strut  3600    "  " 

We  have  now  to  consider  an  additional  series  of  strains,  —  those 
due  to  wind-pressure.  Of  course  the  wind  may  blow  upon  either 
side  of  the  roof,  but  by  calculating  the  stresses  due  to  a  pressure  on 
one  side,  we  shall  have  all  the  data  required  for  extending  it  to  the 
other. 

We  will  suppose  the  wind  to  blow  from  the  left  in  Figure  180. 
As  the  general  direction  of  wind-movement  is  nearly  horizontal,  the 
maximum  pressure  in  a  direction  normal  to  the  plane  of  the  rafters 
occasioned  by  it  increases  as  the  pitch  of  any  given  roof  rises,  and 
in  a  certain  ratio  to  the  angle  which  the  rafters  make  with  the  horizon. 
The  angle  of  the  present  roof  being  52°  it  will  be  safe  to  assume  a 
maximum  wind-pressure  in  a  direction  normal  to  that  inclination  of 
44  pounds  to  the  square  foot,  which  will  give  as  the  wind-pressure 
supported  by  the  rafter  A  E  in  Figure  180,  which  is  30  feet  long 
and  spaced  12  feet  from  the  next  rafter,  30  X  12  X  44  =  15840 
pounds.  This,  as  the  wind  will  only  blow  on  one  side  at  a  time,  will 
give  the  total  wind-pressure  on  the  whole  roof,  although  its  direction 
may  be  reversed.  We  lay  this  off  in  Figure  182  from  A  to  B,  at  the 
same  scale  as  in  the  preceding  diagram,  A  B  being  drawn  in  a 
direction  perpendicular  to  the  inclination  of  the  left-hand  rafter. 
The  next  thing  is  to  lay  off  on  A  B  the  points  showing  the  propor- 
tionate portions  of  the  pressure  borne  at  the  several  joints,  and 
also  the  reactions  of  the  supports  at  E  and  F.  We  can  easily  see 
that,  as  in  the  case  of  vertical  pressure,  the  joint  C  bears  half  the 
strain  on  the  rafter,  A  and  E  bearing  one-quarter  each,  which  will  give 
A  C  on  the  diagram  as  the  pressure  at  A,  C  E  as  the  pressure  at  G, 
and  E  B  at  E.  To  find  the  reactions  of  the  supports  we  must  con- 
sider that  the  tendency  of  the  oblique  force  of  the  wind  on  the  whole 
truss,  A  E  F  in  Figure  180,  is  to  turn  it  about  the  point  E,  with  a 
leverage  which  will  be  proportional  to  the  distance  from  E  of  C, 
which  is  the  centre  of  the  rafter,  and  forms  the  point  at  which  the 


290 


BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 


•* 


pressure,  uniformly  distributed  over  the  roof-surface,   may  be  as- 
sumed to  be  concentrated.    We  can  see  that  the  support  F  will, 

with  this  particu- 
lar form  of  roof, 
be  most  severely 
strained,  and  the 
exact  ^proportion 
between  the  loads 
borne  by  each  sup- 
port can  be  readily 
found  by  drawing 
from  C  a  line  per- 
pendicular to  the 
rafter  A  E,  and 
str  iking  the 
straight  line  con- 
necting  the  points 
of  support  at  1 ;  then  measuring  the  distances  1  F  and  1  E,  which  will 
give,  inversely,  the  relative  pressures  borne  by  F  and  E.  In  this  case 
1  F  is  £  of  the  whole  distance  E  F,  and  1  E  is  §  of  the  same,  from  which 
we  infer  that  F  bears  §  of  the  wind-pressure,  and  E  only  £.  Apply- 
ing this  to  Figure  182,  we  divide  A  B  by  the  point  Z>,  at  £  the  dis- 
tance from  B  to  A.  Then  B  D  will  represent  the  reaction  of  the 
support  E,  and  D  A  that  of  the  support  F.  Beginning  with  the 
joint  E  of  Figure  180  we  trace  the  stresses  in  the  same  way  as  be- 
fore with  vertical  strains.  From  E  on  the  diagram  we  pass  down 
to  B  for  the  direct  pressure,  then  upward  to  D  for  the  reaction  of 
the  support  E,  then  horizontally  to  G  for  the  tension  on  the  tie- 
beam,  and  down,  parallel  with  the  rafter,  to  E,  the  point  of  begin- 
ning, for  the  compressive  strain  on  the  rafter  at  its  foot. 

To  find  the  strains  at  the  joint  C,  in  the  middle  of  the  rafter,  we 
start  at  C  in  the  diagram  and  pass  downward  to  E  for  the  propor- 
tion of  the  wind-pressure  borne  at  C,  then  up  to  G  for  the  reaction 
of  the  lower  portion  of  the  rafter,  then  upward,  parallel  with  tL< 
direction  of  the  strut,  to  JP,  until  a  line  drawn  downward  from  F9 
parallel  with  the  upper  portion  of  the  rafter,  will  close  on  C,  the 
point  of  beginning.  This  will  give  us  the  stress  due  to  wind  upon 
each  portion  of  the  rafter,  the  strut,  and  the  portion  of  the  tie-beam 
nearest  the  wind,  as  follows,  scaling  them  from  the  diagram. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  291 

STRESSES   FOR   WIND-PRESSURE.      WIND   LEFT. 

Left-Hand  Part  of  Tie  1800  Ibs.  Tension. 
Left  Lower  Rafter  900    "     Compression. 

"    Upper  Rafter         3300    "  " 

Left-Hand  Strut  8300    "  " 

All  these  stresses  would  be  reversed  by  a  change  in  the  direction 
of  the  wind. 

There  are  still  other  strains  to  be  found  on  the  other  pieces  of  the 
truss,  but  the  reader  can  easily  finish  the  diagram  for  himself.  It 
is  enough  to  say  that  the  next  point  to  be  investigated  is  that  at  A  in 
Figure  180,  then  D,  and  then  F,  and  finally,  the  investigation  of  JB 
will  serve  to  check  the  correctness  of  the  others.  It  will  be  found 
that  the  strut  B  D  receives  no  stress  of  any  kind  from  wind-pressure 
on  the  opposite  side;  that  the  portion  B  F  of  the  tie-beam  suffers  a 
compressive  strain  of  about  3300  pounds ;  that  the  rafter  A  F  is 
equally  strained  throughout  its  whole  length  with  a  compressive  force 
of  about  8000  pounds,  and  the  king-rod  A  B  is  subjected  to  a  tensile 
stress  of  6,500  pounds. 

As  the  tie-beam  E  F  is  strained  by  tension,  to  the  amount  of  1800 
pounds,  at  one  end,  and  by  a  compression  of  3300  pounds  at  the  other, 
it  would  seem  that  the  net  effect  of  the  pressure  would  be  a  compressive 
stress  equivalent  to  the  difference  between  the  two,  or  1500  pounds. 
This,  is,  however,  an  unsafe  inference,  the  two  kinds  of  stresses 
acting  to  a  certain  extent  separately,  instead  of  neutralizing  each 
other,  so  that  the  prudent  method  is  to  take  the  largest  amount  of 
stress  of  the  principal  kind,  without  deduction  for  the  neutralizing 
effect  of  the  opposing,  but  inferior  forces.  In  the  case  of  the 
rafters,  which  are  all  strained  in  the  same  way,  but  of  which  we  find 
that  the  one  away  from  the  wind  is  the  most  strained,  we  will  pro- 
vide for  resisting  the  greater  stress,  which  will  make  us  safe  against 
the  lesser  one.  This  will  give  us  a  corrected  table  of  wind-pressure 
strains,  which  we  will  place  side  by  side  with  those  due  to  vertical 
pressure,  adding  them  together  to  find  the  sums  which  will  give  us 
die  total  stress  acting  along  each  piece  which  that  piece  must  be  cal- 
culated to  bear  safely.  For  shortness  we  will  mark  tension  as  — 
and  compression  as  ••}-. 


21)2  BUILDING   SUPERINTENDENCE. 

STRESSES  ON  Tnrss.—  Vertical  Load  and  Wind-Pressure. 


Piece. 

Vertical  Load. 
Ibs. 

Wind-Pressure. 
Ibs. 

sr 

Tie  F  F  (Fig  180  ) 

6  100 

1  800 

,   g  OflQ 

King-Rod    AB  

—  6  (>00 

—  6,500 

—12,500 

Each  Lower  Rafter,  C  E,  D  F  
Fach  Upper  Rafter   AC   AD 

+10,300 
tl  000 

4-  8,000 
4-  8  000 

-f  18,300 
-j-15  000 

Each  Strut.  JJC.  13  D... 

3,600 

4-  8,300 

+11  900 

We  can  now  obtain  the  sizes  of  the  timbers  and  rods  which  will 
safely  sustain  these  stresses. 

The  tie-beam,  E  F,  suffers  a  tensile  strain  of  8200  pounds.  The 
safe  tensile  strength  of  spruce  timber,  which  we  suppose  to  be  the 
material  of  the  truss,  should  not,  for  such  a  roof,  be  taken  at  more 
than  1000  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and  a  timber  of  8.2  square 
inches  sectional  area,  or  about  2"  x  4",  would  give  the  resistance 
required. 

There  is,  however,  another  consideration  which  enters  into  the 
calculation  of  the  size  of  the  tie-beam.  Not  only  does  it  keep  the 
feet  of  the  rafters  of  the  truss  from  spreading,  but,  in  virtue  of  its 
horizontal  position,  it  is  also  a  beam,  or  rather  a  pair  of  beams,  each 
having  a  span  equal  to  the  distance  from  the  king-rod  to  the  wall- 
plate,  about  20  feet,  and  burdened  with  its  own  weight,  which  tends 
to  break  it  by  a  transverse  strain.  This  strain  is  entirely  indepen- 
dent of  the  longitudinal  stress  along  the  timber,  and  must  be  pro- 
vided against  separately,  by  increasing  the  size  of  the  timber,  so  as 
to  give  additional  fibres  for  resisting  the  bending  strain,  which  those 
fibres  engaged  in  tensile  resistance  to  the  longitudinal  stress  cannot 
deal  with.  We  will  try,  therefore,  a  3"  x  4"  timber  in  place  01 
2"  x  4",  and  see  if  it  gives  us  strength  to  meet  all  the  stresses, 
transverse  as  well  as  longitudinal.  Supposing  2"  x  4"  of  this  to  be 
occupied  in  resisting  the  direct  tensile  force,  we  shall  have  remain- 
ing a  beam  1"  x  4",  20  feet  long,  which  must  sustain  the  weight  of 
the  entire  timber,  3"  x  4"  x  20",  which,  at  45  pounds  to  the  cubic 
foot,  will  be  75  pounds,  uniformly  distributed  over  the  beam. 

The  simplest  formula  for  transverse  strength  of  rectangular  beams 

b&    (1    '     C  TTT       • 

g  L     =  W  in  which 

b  is  breadth  of  beam  in  inches. 

d  is  depth    "      "      "      " 

C  is  a  constant,  which  for  spruce  is  450. 

*  is  the  factor  of  safety,  which  should  be  8. 

L  is  the  length  of  the  beam  in  feet. 

W  is  the  safe  centre  load 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  293 

Applying  this,  and  remembering  that  the  distributed  load  may  be 
with  safety  twice  as  great  as  the  centre  load,  we  shall  have 

1  v  4^  y  4^0  y  2 

g-jTgo =  12°  pounds  safe  distributed  load.     As  the  weight 

of  the  timber  is  only  75  pounds,  we  have  here  a  surplus  of  transverse 
strength  of  about  60  per  cent,  but  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  make 
the  stick  any  smaller.  In  fact,  wooden  tie-beams  are  ordinarily 
made  of  far  greater  dimensions  than  this,  and  with  reason,  for  they 
are  very  liable  to  be  used  for  supporting  the  weight  of  partitions 
either  above  or  below,  or  are  subjected  to  other  extraneous  trans- 
verse strains  which  they  are  less  able  to  resist  than  other  beams, 
which  have  no  special  work  of  their  own  to  do,  while  their  strength 
is  further  impaired  by  the  mortises  by  which  the  rafters  and  king- 
rod  are  framed  into  them.  The  king-rod,  A  B,  is  of  wrought-iron, 
and  endures  a  simple  tensile  stress  of  12500  pounds.  The  usual 
estimate  for  the  safe  tensile  strength  of  wrought-iron  is  10000  pounds 
per  square  inch,  and  as  the  area  .of  a  circle  is  .7854  of  that  of  the 
square  in  which  it  is  inscribed,  the  diameter  of  a  round  rod  to  hold 

safely  12500  pounds  will  be  ^       *"5U(Lg/<  =Vl.59  =  1.26,  or  about 

10000     X    •ToUTT 

1£  inches. 

The  upper  and  lower  rafters  and  the  struts  are  all  subjected  to 
compression,  and  their  dimensions  will  be  found  by  the  formulas  for 
wooden  columns.  Taking  the  lower  rafters  first,  with  a  stress  of 
18300  pounds,  we  may,  as  they  are  only  about  15  feet  long,  take 
the  compressive  strain  which  they  will  bear  safely  in  the  direction 
of  their  length  at  400  pounds  per  square  inch  of  sectional  area.  To 
sustain  18300  pounds  will  therefore  be  required  a  timber  of  46  square 
inches  sectional  area,  and  we  may  use  a  stick  4"  x  1 2",  5"  x  1 0",  or  6"  x 
8",  as  may  be  most  convenient.  As  in  the  case  of  the  tie-beam,  a 
small  surplus  of  strength  must  be  reserved  to  resist  the  transverse 
strain  due  to  the  weight  of  the  rafter  itself,  which  tends  to  bend  it 
inward,  but  the  slight  excess  of  these  dimensions  over  those  strictly 
necessary  will  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  If,  however,  a  purlin 
were  placed,  as  is  often  the  case,  bearing  directly  on  the  rafter,  mid- 
way between  its  foot  and  the  strut,  a  very  important  transverse 
strain,  equal  to  the  wind-pressure  on  a  portion  of  the  roof  7£  feet 
wide  and  12  feet  long,  together  with  the  component  normal  to  the 
direction  of  the  rafter  of  the  vertical  pressure  due  to  the  weight  of 


294 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


the  same  portion  of  the  roof  and  its  load  of  snow,  amounting  in  aft 
to  about  6000  pounds,  would  have  to  be  resisted  by  the  rafter,  acting 
as  a  beam  loaded  at  the  centre,  in  addition  to  the  compressive  .stress 
acting  in  the  direction  of  its  length,  and  its  dimensions  would  need 
to  be  increased  accordingly. 

The  same  observations  apply  to  the  upper  rafter,  and  even  to  the 
strut,  in  some  instances,  but  if  we  are  sure  that  we  will  'not  forget 
this  caution  in  case  of  need,  we  may,  for  the  present,  continue  to 
study  our  truss  as  it  is  intended  to  be  built,  without  transverse  su.iins 
on  any  of  the  pieces  except  those  due  to  their  own  weight.  The 
upper  rafter,  having  to  sustain  aeornpressive  strain  of  15000  pounds 
will  then  need,  by  the  same  rule,  a  sectional  area  of  37£  square 
inches,  and  a  4"  x  10",  5"  x  8"  or  6"  x  7"  stick  would  give  the  re- 
quired strength  with  a  surplus  for  resisting  the  transverse  strain  of 
its  own  weight.  The  strut,  which  sustains  11900  pounds,  may  be  4" 
x  8"  or  6"  x  6".  This  completes  the  schedule  of  timbers  for  the 
trusses  over  the  stage. 

The  trusses  over  the  auditorium  and  gallery  require  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  similar  proc- 
esses, which  it  is  un- 
necessary to  describe 
at  length.  The  for- 
mer, however,  aa 
shown  in  Figure  183, 
not  being  tied  at  the 
foot  of  the  raftervS,  ex- 
erts a  thrust  upon  the 
Walls  at  each  side, 
which  would  certainly 
overturn  them  if  not 
counteracted,  and  in 
order  to  be  able  to 
provide  the  necessary 
resistance  we  must 
know  the  direction 
and  amount  of  the 
thrust.  A  glance  at  the  diagram  shows  that  the  truss  really  consists 
of  three  portions,  the  upper  part,  A  E  F,  forming  a  i  igid  frame, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


295 


resting  upon  two  other  frames,  E  K  M  IB  and  B  F  L  N  J,  the  latter 
of  which  are  inclined  inward  from  the  wall,  and 
tend  to  push  it  outward  at  their  foot,  and,  disre- 
garding the  various  pieces  composirlg  these  in- 
clined frames,  which  serve  principally  as  braces 
against   deformation  by  wind-pressure,  we  may 
consider  each  as  equivalent  to  a  single  straight 
timber,  or  inclined  column,  acting  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines  E  M  and  F  N.     It  is  easy  to  as- 
certain the  thrust  at  the  foot  of  this  column,  by 
laying  off  A  Bin  Figure  184,  equal,  by  any  re- 
quired scale,  to  the  vertical  pressure  on  E, 
that  is,  to  half  the  weight  on  the  truss  E  A  F; 
then  drawing  A  C  on  the  diagram,  parallel  to 
E  M,  and  B  C  horizontally  intersecting  A  C 
at  C,  B  C  will  then  show  by  the  scale  the  hor- 
izontal outward  thrust  on  the  wall  at  the  point 
M,  in  Fig.  183.     This  being  ascertained  we 
must  now  find  the  shape  and  size  of  buttress, 
if  any,  which  is  necessary  to  keep  the  walls 
from  being  pushed  over  by  the  thrust.     We 
can  best  do  this  graphically,  as  follows :  — 

Beside  the  diagram  for  thrust  in  Figure 
184  draw  a  section  of  the  wall.  The  scale 
of  this  section,  which  is  in  a  certain  number 
of  feet  to  an  inch,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
that  of  the  stress-diagram,  which  is  in  pounds 
to  an  inch,  and  any  scale  may  be  used.  Fix 
the  position  of  the  section  so  that,  by  its 
scale,  the  point  C,  which  represents  the  place 
of  application  of  the  inclined  force  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  truss,  supposed  to  rest 
upon  a  corbel  projecting  from  the  wall,  will 
come  at  the  proper  distance  from  the  wall- 
surface,  and  draw  a  line  at  Y,  representing 
at  the  same  scale  the  floor-line,  which,  if  the 
wall  is  anchored  to  the  timbers  of  the  floor, 
would  be  the  point  about  which  it  would 


Fig.  (64 


296  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

revolve  in  overturning.  Next  find  the  weight  of  a  portion  of  wall  ex- 
tending from  the  floor-line  up  to  K  in  Figure  183,  and  equal  in  width 
to  the  space  between  the  windows,  whicl}  we  suppose  to  «e  five  feet. 
Add  to  this  the  actual  weight  of  the  portion  of  the  root  supported 
by  K  E,  Figure  1 83,  not  including  any  allowance  for  snow  or  wind. 
The  sum  will  give  the  vertical  pressure  which  combines  with  the  ob- 
lique pressure  E  M  to  change  its  direction  in  its  passage  through 
the  wall.  Laying  off  now  this  vertical  pressure  downward  from  C, 
in  the  diagram  of  Figure  184,  to  the  same  scale  of  pounds  as  the 
other  pressures,  we  find  that  it  extends  to  D.  Draw  now  A  7), 
which  will  give  the  direction  and  amount  of  the  total  combined 
pressures  at  the  floor-line,  and  X  Y,  drawn  parallel  to  A  D  from  X, 
the  point  where  A  C  prolonged  strikes  the  plane  of  the  centre  of 
gravity  of  the  wall,  will  give  at  Y  the  actual  position  of  the  inter- 
section of  this  modified  pressure-line  with  the  base-line  of  the  mov- 
able portion  of  the  wall.  The  point  Y  falls  outside  of  the  wall, 
showing  that  its  unassisted  stability  is  not  equal  to  the  oblique  press- 
ure upon  it,  and  that  it  will  be  overturned. 

There  are  three  ways  of  adding  to  the  wall  the  requisite  support. 
The  most  obvious  of  these  is  the  addition  of  exterior  buttresses,  the 
weight  of  which  will  serve  to  deflect  the  pressure-line  more  directly 
downward,  at  the  same  time  that  their  position  will  improve  the  sta- 
bility of  the  wall  by  removing  the  point  about  which  the  pier  must 
revolve,  in  order  to  overturn,  beyond  the  intersection  of  the  press- 
ure-line with  the  base.  The  second  resource  is  the  construction  of 
interior  buttresses,  the  weight  of  which  will  also  serve  to  deflect  the 
pressure-line  to  a  direction  more  nearly  vertical,  at  the  same  time 
removing  the  point  C,  in  Figure  184,  horizontally  away  from  the 
wall,  until  the  point  Y  is  brought  within  the  base.  The  third  method 
consists  in  piling  up  masonry  in  the  form  of  pinnacles  above  the 
wall  at  the  proper  places,  increasing  by  their  weight  the  vertical 
component  of  the  total  pressure,  until  the  line  falls  within  the  base 
of  the  wall,  with  little  or  no  help  from  buttresses,  either  exterior  or 
interior.  This  would  be  not  only  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  safe 
construction,  but  perhaps  the  most  economical  of  any,  since  the 
weight  of  all  the  masonry  extraneous  to  the  wall  itself  would  be  applied 
in  increasing  the  stability  of  the  pier,  while  buttresses,  either  inte- 
rior or  exterior,  must  be  continued  to  the  ground,  although  the  portion 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


297 


below  the  floor-line,  much  the  largest  part  of  the  whole,  serves 
in  this  case  only  as  a  support,  without  adding  anything  to  the  sta- 
bility of  the  wall  above  the  floor-line.  There  would  probably  be, 
however,  some  objection  on  the  part  of  the  building  committee  to 
such  an  unusual  construction,  and  as  we  have  ourselves  some  fear 
that  masses  of  snow  sliding  down  the  roof  might  push  the  pinnacles 
off,  with  disastrous  results,  we  will  abandon  the  idea  of  employing 
this  method.  Of  the  two  others,  that  of  inside  buttressing  seems  the 
less  adapted  to  the  circumstances,  as  the  projection  of  the  buttresses 
would  obstruct  the  side  aisles  of  the  hall.  If  the  room  were  planned 
with  high  walls  and  flat  ceiling,  the  acoustic  advantage  of  these 
projections  would  be  sufficiently  important  to  outweigh  the  objection 
to  them  as  obstructions,  but  in  the  present  case  the  shape  of  the  roof, 
the  echoes  from  which  would  be  broken  up  and  dissipated  by  the 
net-work  of  trusses  and  the  regular  succession  of  braces  springing 
from  the  corbels,  which  would  intercept  the  waves  of  sound  con- 
ducted along,  as  well  as  re- 
flected from  the  walls,  give 
all  the  security  against  un- 
pleasant reverberation  which 
could  be  obtained  by  interior 
projections,  and  it  will  be  best 
on  other  accounts  to  avoid 
them  by  placing  the  buttress- 
es on  the  outside. 

We  will  first  make  trial  of 
a  buttress  of  the  shape  and 
size  shown  in  elevation  in 
Figure  185,  and  in  plan  in 
Figure  186.  Finding  first 
the  weight  of  the  buttress 
from  the  floor-line  to  the  top, 
we  add  this  to  the  weight  of 
the  wall  as  a  part  of  the  ver- 
tical  force  in  Figure  184,  where  it  is  represented  by  D  E,  CD  rep- 
resenting the  weight  of  the  wall  exclusive  of  the  buttress.  The 
whole  vertical  force  will  therefore  now  be  C  E,  and  A  C,  the  oblique 
cLrust  of  the  truss,  remaining  the  same,  the  new  resultant  for^e  will 


TV  of- fin  If  res* 


298  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

be  represented,  in  direction  and  amount,  by  A  E.  If  then,  we  draw 
a  line,  parallel  to  this  new  resultant,  from  the  point  where  the  line 
of  thrust  intersects  the  plane,  of  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  pier 
and  buttress  combined,  to  the  floor,  of  base  line,  we  shall  at  once 
see  whether  the  whole  will  be  stable. 

The  first  step  in  this  process  is  to  find  the  position  of  the  centre 
of  gravity  of  the  pier  and  buttress.  In  the  plan  of  the  pifer  with  its 
buttress,  Figure  187,  find  the  centre  of  figure  of  each  portion  sepa- 
rately, by  drawing  the  diagonals  of  the  parallelogram  formed  by 
each.  Join  these  centres  by  the  line  A 
B.  The  centre  of  gravity  of  the  whole 
figure  will  then  lie  on  the  line  A  B,  at  a, 
point  which  must  divide  A  B  into  por- 
tions inversely  proportional  to  the  areas 
jof  the  parallelograms  in  which  its  ends 
Fig.  '87.  respectively  lie.  The  area  of  the  paral- 

lelogram representing  the  wall  is  5  X  1 1  =  6§  square  feet;  that  of  the 
parallelogram  representing  the  buttress  is  2  X  If  =  3£  square  feet. 
Three  and  one-third  is  just  one-half  of  six  and  two- thirds,  so  that  the 
point  C,  which  divides  the  line  A  B  at  one-third  of  its  length  from  E, 
will  show  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  complete  figure,  and  if 
the  pier  and  the  buttress  are  of  the  same  material,  and  carried 
to  the  same  height,  it  will  lie  in  the  line  of  the  centre  of  grav- 
ity of  the  whole  mass.  For  our  purposes  we  can  assume  that 
this  is  the  case,  and  that  C  lies  in  the  plane  of  the  actual  centre  of 
gravity.  We  then  find  the  corresponding  point  in  Figure  185  by 
transferring  its  distance  from  the  inside  of  the  wall  with  the  dividers, 
and  draw  a  vertical  line  through  it  as  shown.  The  line  of  the 
thrust  of  the  roof,  prolonged  downward  from  the  corbel,  will  inter- 
sect this  new  line  of  the  centre  of  gravity  at  X,  and  X  Y,  drawn 
from  X  parallel  to  A  E  in  Figure  184,  will  show  the  line  of  the  re- 
sultant pressure  due  to  the  influence  upon  the  thrust  of  the  weight  of 
the  pier  and  buttress.  This  line  will  strike  the  floor,  or  base-line  of 
the  movable  portion  of  the  wall,  at  F,  and  as  this  point  fulfils  the 
condition  of  being  nearer  to  the  vertical  line  drawp  *hrough  the  cen- 
tre of  gravity  than  it  is  to  the  exterior  of  the  mass,  the  pier  and 
buttress,  if  well  anchored  at  the  floor-line,  will  safely  resist  the  effort 
of  the  thrust  ot  the  roof  to  overturn  them. 


BUILDING  SUPEIUVJEXUENCE. 


The  roof  over  the  gallery,  as  we  see  in  Figure  188,  being  supported 
Dy  posts  at  M  and  N,  with  suitable  braced  girders  running  back 
from  E I  and  F  J,  to 
carry  the  truss  inter- 
mediate between  the 
one  shown  in  the  fig- 
ure and  the  end  wall, 
resolves  itself  simply 
into  the  case  of  that 
over  the  stage,  which 
we  have  already  inves- 
tigated ;  the  curved 
braces  B  I  and  B 
being  added  merely 
for  ornament,  and  to 
correspond  with  the 
main  roof.  \\fe  have 
now  only  to  calculate 
the  necessary  size  for 
the  purlins,  which  are 
virtually  beams  12  Fig- I88< 

feet  in  length,  having  a  clear  span  equal  to  this  distance  less  6  inches, 
the  width  of  the  principal  rafter,  and  subjected  to  a  distributed 
transverse  stress,  due  to  their  own  weight,  the  weight  of  the  portion 
of  roof  which  rests  upon  them,  with  an  occasional  wind-pressure 
added  of  44  pounds  to  the  square  foot ;  and  the  sizes  of  the  common 
rafters,  which  are  also  inclined  beams,  of  a  length  equal  to  the  dis- 
tance between  the  purlins,  and  subjected  to  a  distributed  transverse 
etress,  due  to  their  own  weight,  with  the  weight  and  wind-pressure 
upon  the  portion  of  roof  which  each  carries.  The  purlins  should 
be  nearly  square  in  section,  and  each  supports  the  strain  of  a  por- 
tion of  roof  11£  feet  long,  and  of  a  width  equal  to  the  distance  be- 
tween its  centre  and  the  centre  of  the  next  one,  which  in  this  case 
is  15  feet.  We  have  previously  estimated  the  vertical  load,  includ- 
ing weight  of  snow,  on  each  square  foot  of  the  roof-surface  to  be  30 
pounds,  which  would  here  be  equivalent  to  a  pressure,  normal  to  the 
plane  of  the  roof,  of  19  pounds.  To  this  must  be  added  the  maxi- 
mum wind-pressure,  which  we  found  to  be  44  pounds,  making  68 


300  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

pounds  per  square  foot  as  the  total  transverse  pressure.  The  purlin 
sustains  15  X  H£  =  172£  square  feet,  so  that  the  stress  upon  it  will 
be  172£  X  63=  10868  pounds.  Its  own  weight  will  be,  at  the  ut- 
most, 500  pounds,  and  over  the  auditorium  the  underside  of  the  com- 
mon rafters  will  be  lathed  and  plastered,  adding  a  weight  of  about 
10  pounds  per  square  foot,  or  1725  pounds  upon  the  whole  space 
sustained  by  each  purlin.  This,  as  well  as  the  weight  ofi.the- purlin 
itself,  being  a  vertical  pressure,  of  which  a  portion  is  transmitted 
down  the  rafters,  while  only  the  component  normal  to  the  roof-plane 
exerts  a  stress  upon  the  purlin,  we  can  find  the  normal  pressure  cor- 
responding to  the  vertical  weight  of  2225  pounds  either  graphi- 
cally or  by  applying  the  proportion  of  30: 19,  which  we  have  just 
ascertained  to  represent  the  same  relation  in  the  case  of  the  weight 
of  roofing  and  snow.  This  would  give  30  : 1 9  =  2225  : 1409.  Add- 
ing this  to  the  others,  we  obtain  10868  -}-  1409  =  12277  pounds  as 
the  measure  of  the  distributed  transverse  stress  upon  the  purlin. 
This  is  a  severe  stress  for  a  timber  11£  feet  long,  and  we  shall  do 
well  to  employ  Southern  pine  for  the  purlins,  instead  of  spruce,  on 
account  of  its  superior  stiffness.  Using  the  formula  before  em- 
ployed in  calculating  the  tie-beam,  gL  =  W,  we  shall  have  here : 
'  W=  12277 

s  =6 

L=U$ 

C=550,  the  constant  for  Southern  pine,  as  450  is  for  spruce. 

b  and  d  are  both  unknown. 

Instead  of  transposing  the  formula,  it  is  often  less  trouble  to 
assume  certain  dimensions,  and  try  whether  they  fulfil  the  required 
conditions  of  strength.  In  this  case  we  will  try  whether  a  10"  x  10" 
stick  will  do.  Substituting  these  dimensions  for  b  and  d  in  the  for- 
mula, and  remembering  that  the  weight,  12277  pounds,  being  dis- 
tributed uniformly  along  the  purlin,  exerts  only  half  as  much  break- 
ing stress  as  if  it  were  concentrated  at  the  centre,  we  shall  have 
ioxio^55Qx2_=15942  poundS)  ag  the  Distributed  weight  which  will 
be  safely  borne  by  the  timber.  This  is  greater  than  we  need,  and 
we  will  try  an  8"  x  10",  which  we  find  to  be  capable  of  supporting 
safely  12754  pounds,  or  a  little  more  than  the  given  weight,  so  we 
adopt  these  dimensions. 

The  rafters  are  last  to  be  considered.     The  steady  stress  upon 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  801 

each  of  these,  consisting  of  the  simple  weight  of  the  portion  of 
the  roof  with  its  load  of  snow  resting  on  it,  acts  vertically,  and 
the  inclination  of  the  rafter  being  oblique  to  this  vertical  force,  it  is 
necessary  to  resolve  the  single  stress  due  to  the  weight  into  two,  one 
of  which  will  act  in  a  direction  normal  to  the  inclination  of  the 
rafter,  forming  a  transverse  strain  of  the  ordinary  kind,  while  the 
other  acts  along  the  rafter  by  compression,  and  is  to  be  resisted  by 
the  rafter  acting  as  a  column.  The  clear  span  of  each  rafter,  from 
purlin  to  purlin,  is  15  feet,  less  8  inches,  the  width  of  the  purlin,  and 
as  the  rafters  are  spaced  16  inches  from  centres,  each  carries  a  por- 
tion of  the  roof  14£  X  l£  feet  in  area.  The  weight  upon  this,  in- 
cluding that  of  the  rafter  itself,  the  roofing  boards  and  slates,  tbfc 
lath  and  plaster  underneath,  and  a  possible  load  of  snow,  will  be  14^ 
X  l£  X  40  =  764  pounds.  Drawing  a  vertical  line  representing 
this  weight,  at  any  scale,  we  make  it  one  side  of  a  triangle,  of  which 
the  other  two  sides  are  drawn  respectively  parallel  to  the  direction 
of  the  rafter,  and  at  right  angles  to  it.  The  length  of  these  two. 
sides,  measured  at  the  same  scale,  will  give  the  components  of  the 
vertical  pressure,  which  act  along  the  rafter  and  transversely  to  it. 
We  shall  find  the  transverse  component  to  be  about  455  pounds,  ana 
the  other,  acting  to  compress  the  rafter,  about  600  pounds.  At  400 
pounds  per  square  inch,  the  sectional  area  of  the  rafter,  acting  as  a 
column,  required  to  resist  this  stress  would  be  1£  square  inches,  and 
the  dimensions  needed  to  resist  the  transverse  strain  must  be  added 
to  this.  The  transverse  component  of  the  simple  weight  of  roof  and 
snow  we  have  just  seen  to  be  455  pounds.  To  this  must  be  added  the 
wind-pressure,  which  is  a  direct  transverse  strain,  amounting,  by  our 
previous  estimate,  to  44  pounds  per  square  foot,  or  14^X1  jX44  —  841 
pounds  on  the  whole  area  supported  by  each  single  rafter.  Adding 
the  two  results  together,  we  have  455  -f-  841  =  1296  pounds  as  the 
distributed  transverse  pressure  on  the  rafter.  By  the  formula  pre- 
viously employed,  assuming  the  rafters  to  be  of  spruce,  with  a  value 
for  C  of  450,  we  find  that  3"  x  7"  timbers  will  give  a  resistance  of 
1540  pounds;  and  supposing  1£  square  inches  of  the  sectional  area, 
comprising  a  slice  \"  wide  by  the  depth  of  the  rafter,  to  be  occupied 
in  resisting  the  longitudinal  stress,  we  shall  have  remaining  a  piece 
24"  x  7"^  whose  strength,  according  to  the  formula,  will  be 
*  5  '  X  L>  ~  1436  Pounjs-  This  is  larSer  than  we  need,  but 


y 


802  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

the  difference  is  so  unimportant  that  we  need  not  regard  it,  and  we 
adopt  this  as  the  proper  scantling. 

We  now  know  the  necessary  sizes  of  timbers,  and  form  of  piers 
and  buttresses,  for  carrying  out  our  provisional  sketch  of  the  build- 
ing into  definite  drawings,  and  we  proceed  to  lay  out  our  floor-plans 
and  elevations,  continuing,  after  these  are  well  studied,  to  construct 
a  foundation-plan  in  accordance  with  them.  The  elevation  may 
be  first  taken  up,  as  upon  this  will  in  a  great  degree  depend  the 
details  of  the  completed  plan. 

We  have  seen,  from  the  investigation  just  made,  that  the  walls  of 
the  central  portion  of  the  building,  which  support  a  hammer-beam 
roof,  will  need  to  be  buttressed,  to  support  the  tendency  of  the  roof 
to  spread,  while  those  of  the  portions  containing  the  stage  and  gal- 
lery, being  covered  by  roofs  which  are  tied  at  the  feet  of  the  rafters, 
and  therefore  have  no  lateral  pressure,  do  not  require  buttresses. 
Our  calculations  have  shown  that  buttresses  20  inches  wide  on  the 
face,  and  projecting  two  feet,  will  fulfil  the  conditions  of  stability, 
but  if  the  effect  or  the  proportion  should  require  it,  we  need  not  hesi- 
tate to  vary  from  these  dimensions,  only  assuring  ourselves,  in  case 
of  doubt,  that  the  new  form  will  be  equally  suited  to  resist  the  thrust 
of  the  roof.  The  projection  of  the  buttresses  on  the  middle  portion 
of  the  facade  will  give  it  a  marked  character,  heightened  by  the  long 
side  windows  of  the  central  hall,  which  are  not  needed,  and  are 
rather  in  the  way,  in  the  stage  and  gallery  portions ;  and  to  differen- 
tiate still  further  the  middle  of  the  building  from  the  ends,  we  will 
carry  up  a  low  parapet  over  the  windows  of  the  hall,  behind  which 
a  wide  and  deep  gutter  can  be  formed  to  keep  the  drip  from  the 
eaves  away  from  the  central  doorway.  The  corresponding  portion 
of  the  ridge  may  also  be  distinguished  by  a  cresting  of  metal  or 
terra-cotta,  and  the  three-fold  division  of  the  interior  thus  "  accused  " 
upon  the  exterior,  without  interrupting  that  uniformity  of  the  roof- 
surfaces  which  we  think  desirable. 

The  buttresses  of  the  middle  portion  of  the  walls  must  obviously 
be  supported  from  below,  and  will  appear  in  the  first  story  as  piers. 
The  curtain  wall  which  connects  them  in  the  second  story  need  not, 
however,  be  prolonged  to  the  ground,  if  there  is  any  other  way  of 
supporting  it,  but  may  have  its  position  transposed  in  the  first  story, 
if  we  desire.  As  some  of  the  smaller  offices  in  the  first  story  and 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


303 


basement  occupy  but  one  bay  of  the  fa9ade,  we  can  save  twenty 
inches  of  room  in  them,  besides  improving  the  effect  of  the  front, 
without  adding  to  its  cost,  by  adopting  this  disposition,  and  transfer- 
ring  the  curtain  wall,  or  "  wall-veil,"  as  some  persons  prefer  to  say, 
in  the  first  story  to  the  exterior  instead  of  the  interior  line  of  the 

buttresses.  This  will  take 
away  the  support  from  be- 
neath the  small  portions  of 
the  upper  wall  between 
the  buttresses  and  the  win- 
dow openings,  and  under 
the  windows  themselves,  so 
we  will  have  flat  segmental 
arches  turned  in  those 


Fig.   189. 

places,  which  will  show  just  under  the  ceilings  of  the  first-story 
rooms,  but  will  be  out  of  the  way.  The  interval  which  will  be  left 
between  the  top  of  the  first-story  wall  and  the  sills  of  the  sec- 
ond-story windows  we  will  treat  as  series  of  small  balconies,  accessi- 
ble from  the  windows,  with  stone  floors,  and  a  parapet  wall.  This 


304  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

balcony  wall  will  stop  at  one  end  against  the  staircase  tower,  and 
may  be  prolonged  at  the  other  end  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  shallow 
porch  over  the  side  doorway,  with  a  narrow  balcony  on  top,  fur- 
nished with  a  door  opening  from  the  room  under  the  gallery;  all  of 
which  will  help  to  break  up  and  make  interesting  a  front  otherwise 
somewhat  monotonous. 

We  shall  find  some  difficulty  in  preventing  the  tower  frofci  looking 
like  the  steeple  of  a  church,  which  the  building  already  resembles 
rather  more  than  we  wish,  but  we  will  see  if  that  unfailing  resource 
of  the  architectural  designer,  the  expression  on  the  exterior  of  the 
building  of  the  distribution  and  uses  of  the  interior,  may  not  help  us. 
Remembering  that  a  portion  of  the  tower,  which  contains  the  stair- 
case leading  to  all  the  upper  portions  of  the  building,  must  be  re- 
served as  a  ventilating  shaft,  to  earn  the  foul  air  from  the  different 
portions  of  the  building,  we  will  "  accuse  "  the  shaft  by  making  it 
project  four  inches  from  the  general  surface  of  the  tower  wall,  above 
the  first  story,  and  will  give  it  a  special  termination  at  the  top.  We 
shall  need,  for  the  best  results,  a  shaft  of  something  like  sixty  square 
feet  sectional  area,  and  this  can  be  obtained  in  the  manner  indicated. 
The  offset  of  four  inches  which  would  naturally  be  made  in  the 
tower  wall  about  at  the  second-story  floor  we  will  make  on  the  out- 
side instead  of  the  inside,  thus  giving  it  an  air  of  greater  apparent 
stability  by  the  enlargement  of  the  base.  The  outside  of  the  wall  of 
the  ventilating  shaft  may  be  made  continuous  with  that  below,  while 
the  change  in  thickness  of  the  other  portion  may  be  emphasized  by 
placing  at  that  point  a  balcony,  supported  by  stone  corbelling,  which 
will  serve  to  shelter  the  stage  entrance  to  the  hall,  and  will  always 
be  useful,  at  times  of  public  demonstrations,  to  the  guests  of  the 
town  officers,  who  will  obtain  access  to  it  by  a  door.  The  top  of 
the  tower  would  naturally  be  used  to  some  extent  as  a  lookout,  and 
a  bell  would  probably  be  hung  there,  so  that  the  flat  platform  with 
parapet,  and  wooden  belfry  a  little  in  retreat,  will  serve  both  pur- 
poses. To  complete  the  exterior  features  we  should  add  a  ventilating 
turret  over  the  middle  of  the  roof,  which  will  be  indispensable  in  hot 
weather,  to  withdraw  rapidly  the  air  just  under  the  roofing,  which 
is  intensely  heated  by  the  sun  on  the  slates,  before  it  can  diffuse 
itself  into  the  atmosphere  below,  and  two  chimneys  will  be  necessa- 
ry, which  can  conveniently  be  placed  in  the  walls  of  the  end  gables. 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  305 

The  elevation  of  the  opposite  side  will  be  substantially  the  same 
as  the  front,  with  the  exception  of  the  tower  and  doorways,  and  the 
end  walls  will  be  pierced  only  with  a  few  windows. 

Before  we  can  fix  the  weights  upon  the  different  portions  of  the 
foundation,  which  will  determine  the  spread  of  the  footings  and  the 
number  of  piles  under  them,  it  will  be  necessary  to  fix  definitely 
the  thickness  of  the  walls.  For  the  front,  since  the  piers  between  the 
windows  are  somewhat  slender,  we  have  already  decided  to  make 
them  10  inches  thick,  adding  the  projection  of  the  buttresses  to  this, 
and  as  this  wall  is  well  tied  by  the  floor-beams  which  rest  in  it,  the 
same  thickness,  16  inches,  will  be  sufficient  for  the  portions  at  the 
ends,  which  have  no  buttresses. 

The  gable  walls  are  under  very  different  conditions,  being  much 
higher  than  the  others.  The  lower  portion,  beneath  the  stage  and 
gallery  floors,  is  slightly  steadied  by  the  interior  partition-walls, 
which  are  to  be  well  anchored  to  it ;  but  above  this  floor  the  wall 
stands  free  to  the  roof.  As  the  roof  cannot  well  be  tied  very 
strongly  to  the  gable  walls,  it  will  be  safest  to  regard  these  as  un- 
supported above  the  ground  floor,  and  to  give  them  the  thickness 
required  for  independent  stability.  This  can  be  readily  calculated 
by  Rondelet's  empirical  rule.  Laying  off  the  height  of  the  wall 
above  the  ground,  at  any  scale  upon  a  vertical  line,  we  set  off  hori- 
zontally from  the  foot  of  the  vertical,  at  the  same  scale,  the  distance 
between  the  cross-walls  or  other  supports  which  bound  the  wall 
whose  thickness  we  wish  to  determine.  Connecting  first  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  horizontal  line,  by  a  diagonal,  with  the  top  of  the  ver- 
tical line,  we  then  divide  the  vertical  line  into  twelve  equal  parts, 
and,  with  one  of  these  parts  as  a  radius,  describe  an  arc  from  the 
top  of  the  vertical  line,  cutting  the  diagonal,  and  from  the  intersec- 
tion of  this  arc  with  the  diagonal  let  fall  a  second  vertical  line.  The 
space  between  the  two  vertical  lines,  at  the  scale  of  the  diagram, 
will  represent  the  necessary  thickness  of  the  wall. 

In  our  case  the  gable  is  96  feet  high  from  the  second  floor  to  the 
apex,  and  70  feet  wide  between  the  supporting  return-walls;  and 
applying  the  rule  we  find  the  thickness  necessary  to  stability  to  be 
about  4  feet. 

It  is  obvious  that  although  this  maybe  the  proper  thickness  of  the 
wall  at  the  foot,  some  economy  may  be  made  in  the  upper  portion. 


306  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

without  diminishing  the  stability  of  the  mass,  since  the  lowering  of 
the  centre  of  gravity  will  compensate  for  the  loss  of  weight.  If  the 
wall  were  rectangular,  it  might,  by  successive  offsets,  be  reduced 
from  four  feet  to  sixteen,  or  even  twelve  inches,  at  the  top,  but  the 
peak  of  a  gable  is^ess  solid  and  steady  than  the  corresponding  por- 
tion of  a  rectangular  wall,  and  we  shall  do  best  not  to  reduce  it 
below  twenty  inches  in  thickness.  It  is  quite  possible  that^a  smaller 
amount  of  material  might  be  so  distributed,  by  means  of  buttresses,  as 
to  give  the  stability  needed,  but  this,  we  suppose,  would  involve  in 
our  case  certain  objectionable  conditions,  so  we  accept  the  result  of 
our  calculation,  and  draw  the  section  of  the  wall  in  accordance  with 
it,  making  the  average  thickness  34  inches.  The  tower  walls  are 
next  to  be  considered.  These  are  strongly  held  by  the  return  walls, 
which  tie  them  back  in  such  a  way  that  it  would  be  almost  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  fall  over,  so  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  give  them 
more  than  the  thickness  required  for  resisting  the  crushing  strain 
due  to  their  own  weight.  The  walls  being  134  feet  high,  the  Ron- 
delet  diagram  gives  for  them  a  thickness  of  20  inches,  which  is  un- 
questionably sufficient,  but  public  opinion,  for  some  reason,  generally 
demands  the  thickest  walls  for  towers,  which  need  them  least,  and 
in  .deference  to  this,  as  expressed  by  our  committee,  we  will  make 
the  lower  portion  28  inches  thick,  diminishing  the  upper  part  by 
two  offsets  to  16  inches,  as  a  compensation  for  the  excess  of  material 
used  below.  This,  while  improving  the  appearance  of  the  building, 
will  really  be  judicious  as  a  matter  of  construction,  inasmuch  as  a 
solid  brick  wall  134  feet  high,  and  20  inches  thick,  although  under 
the  circumstances  perfectly  stable,  would  be  subjected  to  a  crushing 
strain  at  the  base  of  7£  tons  to  the  square  foot,  which  would  be  in- 
creased again  upon  the  piers  at  either  side  of  the  doorway  by  the 
arch,  which  throws  upon  them  the  weight  of  the  mass  above  it,  to 
about  12£  tons,  and  to  this  weight  again  might  be  added  a  farther 
strain  due  to  the  action  of  wind  on  one  side  or  the  other,  amounting 
possibly  to  10  or  12  tons  more.  This  would  give  a  stress  \vhich  or- 
dinary brickwork  could  not  with  perfect  safety  be  trusted  to  bear, 
but  the  increase  of  the  mass  at  the  lower  part  of  the  tower,  with  the 
lightening  of  the  upper  walls,  will  relieve  us  of  all  anxiety  upon  this 
point. 

The  variations  in  the  thickness  of  the  masonry  will  be  made  a; 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


807 


somewhat  irregular  heights,  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  openings 
and  the  ventilating  shaft,  but  a  little  study  of  the  section  will  give 
us,  we  suppose,  an  average  thickness  of  22  inches. 

The  interior  walls,  with  the  exception  of  that  forming  the  abut- 
ment, opposite  the  tower,  of  the  proscenium  arch,  which  will  have 
the  same  thickness  as  the  arch,  are  not  of  great  height,  and  are 
steadied  by  the  floor-beams,  so  that  12  inches  will  be  sufficient  for 
them. 

We  can  now  draw  our  definitive  plans  of  the  several  stories,  the 
horizontal  section  of  the  exterior  walls  being  determined.  Figure 
190  shows  the  plan  of  the  first  story,  and  Figure  191  of  the  second 
story.  The  walls  in  the  first  story  are  substantially  the  same  as 


1_L_U 


Fig.  190. 

those  of  the  basement,  so  that  a  plan  of  the  latter  is  not  necessary, 
and  we  may  lay  out  the  foundation  at  once,  as  shown  in  Figure  192. 
In  this  it  will  be  observed  that  each  of  the  interior  walls,  and  the 
plainer  portions  of  the  exterior  walls,  are  provided  with  continuous 
foundations,  but  that  the  masonry  is  interrupted  between  the  piers 
which  support  the  buttresses  above,  although  in  elevation  this  space 
is  occupied  by  a  wall,  which  fills  the  area  around  and  under  the 
windows.  One  may  naturally  ask  why  this  curtain  wall,  light  as  it  is, 
should  be  deprived  of  a  foundation,  and  it  would  be  more  usual,  in 
fact,  to  lay  footings  for  this  portion  of  the  masonry,  as  well  as  the  rest. 
Nevertheless,  an  attentive  study  of  the  conditions  will,  we  think,  show 
that  it  is,  under  the  circumstances,  wiser  to  support  this  portion  of  the 
building  upon  isolated  piers,  than  to  build  for  it  a  continuous  footing, 


508 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


vriiich  must  be  very  unequally  loaded.  A  rapid  computation  of  the 
weight  of  the  piers,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  wall  between  them, 
will  show  that  the  former,  which  are  approximately  If  X  3£  feet  in 
section,  and  about  68  feet  in  height  from  the  level  of  the  basement 
floor,  8  feet  below  the  curb,  to  the  eaves,  contain  each  about  378 
cubic  feet  of  masonry,  weighing,  at  112  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot, 
42336  pounds,  to  this  being  added  the  weight  of  the  curtain  walls 
around  the  second-story  windows,  which,  as  we  remember,  are  sup- 
ported entirely  from  the  main  piers,  by  segmental  arches  sprung  be- 
tween them,  and  weigh,  for  the  portion  resting  on  each  pier,  about 
23000  pounds.  Besides  this,  the  roof-trusses,  which  bear  wholly  upon 
the  piers,  bring  on  each  an  additional  load,  as  we  have  seen,  of  22320 


ZFf 


5<TCO»\Jl 

Fig.  191. 

pounds  ;  while  the  weight  of  the  second-story  floor,  although  framed 
with  beams  at  short  distances  apart,  is  also  brought  by  the  segmental 
arches  just  beneath  it  entirely  on  the  piers,  adding  to  the  load  on 
each  the  weight  of  12  *  3®  =  180  square  feet  of  flooring,  equivalent, 
with  its  ordinary  extraneous  burden,  to  about  18000  pounds.  The 
weight  of  the  first  story  and  basement  floors  would  be  divided  be- 
tween the  piers  and  the  curtain  wall  in  a  proportion  which  can  hardly 
be  estimated  exactly,  but  about  one-half  of  it  would  probably  come 
on  the  piers,  making,  for  two  floors,  an  additional  load  of  18000 
pounds.  Adding  these  together,  we  find  the  total  pressure  at  the 
level  of  the  basement  floor  upon  the  substructure  of  the  piers  to  be 
123656  pounds.  Dividing  this  by  the  sectional  area  of  the  piers  at 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


309 


that  point,  which  is  5£  square  feet,  gives  22483  pounds  as  the  pre§- 
sure  per  square  foot. 

On  the  foundation  wall  between  the  piers  we  shall  have  the  weight 
of  18000  pounds  of  flooring  in  first  story  and  basement,  with  that  of 
the  wall  as  high  as  the  second-story  floor ;  everything  above  restino- 
wholly  on  the  piers.  The  openings  for  windows  occupy  most  of  the 
area,  but  we  have  left  about  300  cubic  feet  of  masonry,  weighing 
33600  pounds ;  the  whole  pressing  upon  the  substructure  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  building,  whose  sectional  area  below  the  basement  win- 
dows is  10^  X  !£=  13£  square  feet,  with  a  force  amounting  to  3820 
pounds  per  square  foot. 

This  calculation  discloses  a  very  great  difference  in  the  intensity 
•  •  B  I  I  I 


lib- 


Fig.  192. 

of  the  pressure  on  the  foundation  under  the  piers,  and  that  upon  tli€ 
wall  between  them,  and  as  the  masonry  of  rough  stone  extends  below 
the  basement  floor  seven  feet  to  the  tops  of  the  piles,  we  have  just 
reason  to  fear  that  the  compression  of  the  joints  in  this  masonry  be- 
neath the  piers  would  be  so  much  greater  than  in  the  intermediate 
portion,  subjected  to  a  load  hardly  one-sixth  as  great,  as  to  cause 
some  dislocation  between  the  two  parts  of  the  stone-work,  which 
would  probably  show  itself  above  ground  by  fractures  in  the  sills  of 
the  basement  and  first  story  windows,  as  well  as  by  the  opening  of 
seams  in  the  angles  between  the  buttresses  and  the  curtain  wall. 

If  the  ground  were  very  soft,  so  as  to  make  it  unsafe  to  increase 
the  load  upon  any  part  of  it  beyond  a  limited  amount  per  square 
foot,  it  might  be  best  to  equalize  the  pressure  by  spreading  the 
footings  of  the  piers  until  the  weight  upon  them  was  distributed 


310 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 


over  so  large  a  surface  as  to  make  the  pressure  upon  each  foot  of 
this  surface  equal  to  that  on  the  footings  of  the  curtain-wall,  but  it 
would  take  a  great  deal  of  stone  to  spread  the  base  of  the  foundation 
to  the  requisite  extent,  and  we,  who  carf*  count  in  the  present  case 
upon  a  pile  foundation  of  tolerable  resistance,  shall  do  best  to  aban- 
don the  idea  of  a  separate  foundation  for  the  curtain  walls,  and  ar- 
range to  support  the  whole,  by  means  of  arches  turned  ju$ t  beneath 
the  basement  floor,  solely  upon  the  footings  of  the  piers. 

Although  the  pressure  upon  these  will  be  increased  by  so  doing, 
we  can  easily  provide  piles  enough  to  sustain  it  all,  and  the  cur- 


Fig,  193. 

tain-walls,  being  now  entirely  dependent  upon  the  piers,  will  settle 
with  them  as  the  joints  are  compressed  under  the  weight  of  the 
superstructure,  instead  of  being  torn  away  from  them  by  the  reaction 
of  the  less  strongly  weighted  stone-work  upon  which  they  themselves 
rest. 

Further  consideration  convincing  us  that  this  is  the  best,  as  well 
as  most  economical  method  of  construction,  we  have  only  to  indicate 
the  underground  arches  which  we  propose,  as  shown  in  Figure  193, 
and  calculate  the  size  of  footings  and  number  of  piles  required  under 
each  pier  to  sustain  the  weight  upon  it,  which  must  now  be  increased 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  811 

by  that  of  the  curtain-wall  in  first  story  and  basement,  above  the 
arches,  and  also  by  an  amount  representing  roughly  the  weight  of 
the  foundation  below  the  basement  floor,  which,  of  course,  can  be 
only  provisionally  determined. 

Before  making  up  our  minds  on  this  point  we  shall  do  best  to  test 
the  resistance  of  the  hard-pan  to  which  the  piles  are  to  be  driven  by 
actual  trial,  and  will  therefore  lay  out  the  piling-plan  for  the  plain 
walls,  and  begin  work. 

Although  the  ground  is  softer  than  we  could  wish,  the  piles  bring 
up  generally  in  a  stratum  which  allows  them  to  sink  only  2£  to  3 
inches  at  the  last  blow  of  a  hammer  weighing  1600  pounds,  and  fall- 
ing 15  feet.  This,  by  Sanders's  formula,  indicates  a  safe  resistance 
for  each  pile,  in  the  worst  cases,  of  18gX  ^ °°  =  12000  pounds,  or  six 
tons.  We  will  therefore  assume  this  as  the  load  to  be  assigned  to 
the  piles  under  the  piers,  and  will  draw  the  plan  accordingly,  re- 
membering that  it  will  be  necessary  to  watch  the  driving  closely,  so 
that  if  a  soft  spot  should  be  met  with,  in  which  the  piles  should  sink 
more  than  three  inches  under  such  a  blow,  additional  piles  can  be 
at  once  staked  out  and  driven,  sufficient  in  number  to  divide  the 
total  pressure  into  portions  small  enough  to  come  within  the  limit  of 
their  safe  resistance,  as  found  by  a  new  calculation. 

Down  to  the  basement  floor,  the  sum  of  all  the  weights  borne  by 
each  pier  is  175256  pounds,  which  would  just  be  sustained  by  fifteen 
piles,  driven  to  a  bottom  as  hard  as  that  which  we  have  already 
found.  We  must  not,  however,  forget  that  a  considerable  cube  of 
masonry  will  intervene  between  the  top  of  the  piles  and  the  base- 
ment floor,  whose  weight  must  be  taken  into  account.  The  distance 
between  these  two  points  is  seven  feet,  and  six  feet,  at  least,  of  this 
must  be  of  heavy  stone  masonry.  The  remaining  foot  may  be  of 
brick,  like  the  superstructure.  Supposing,  simply  for  calculation, 
that  one  extra  pile  would  be  sufficient  to  carry  the  additional  weight 
of  the  foundation,  we  should  have  under  each  pier  a  group  of  sixteen 
piles.  These  are  always  most  advantageously  arranged  in  pairs, 
so  that  the  stones  which  rest  upon  them,  the  "  cappers, "  as  they  are 
called,  may  each  cover  two  piles,  and  no  more.  It  is  also  desirable, 
for  the  sake  of  saving  stone,  to  place  the  piles  as  near  together  as 
they  can  be  driven  without  forcing  each  other  aside,  or  unduly  dis- 
turbing the  bed,  and  the  minimum  distance  for  this  purpose  being 


312  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

two  feet  from  centre  to  centre,  in  such  ground  as  that  with  wUcb 
we  have  to  deal,  the  natural  disposition  of  our  sixteen  piles  will  be 
in  the  form  of  a  square,  measuring  6  feet  on  each  side,  from  the  cen- 
tres of  the  piles.  In  order  to  cover  these  entirely  with  the  capping 
stones,  it  will  be  necessary,  as  the  head  of  the  piles  is  from  10  to  12 
inches  in  diameter,  to  make  the  first  course  7  feet  square.  The  sec- 
ond course,  in  order  that  the  weight  may  not  be  thrown  too  much 
on  the  inner  part  of  the  capping  stones,  should  be  5  feet  square. 
The  third  course  may  be  3  feet  by  4,  and  the  fourth  course  the 
same.  Each  course  will  be  about  18  inches  high,  and  the  whole 
amount  of  stone-work  will  be  147  cubic  feet,  weighing,  at  125  pounds 
per  cubic  foot,  18375  pounds.  The  extra  foot  of  brickwork  between 
the  top  of  the  stone  foundation  and  the  basement  floor  will  weigh 
622  pounds.  Adding  all  the  weights  together,  we  shall  arrive  at  a 
total  of  1 75256 -f-  18375-j- 622  =  1 94253  pounds,  or  97  tons,  to  be 
supported  by  16  piles,  giving  a  load  of  6^  tons  each. 

-f  the  bottom  under  the  piers  should  be  found  as  firm  as  where  we 
are  now  driving,  the  piles  sinking  nc/«  more  than  three  inches,  and 
generally  less,  at  the  last  blow,  with  a  1600-pound  hammer  and  15- 
foot  fall,  we  should  be  quite  safe  in  adopting  this  arrangement,  and 
we  will  stake  out  the  piles  under  the  piers  accordingly,  leaving, 
however,  some  person  to  watch  the  driving,  with  strict  injunctions 
to  mark  on  the  piling-plan,  of  which  he  has  a  tracing,  the  actual 
sinking  at  the  last  blow  of  every  pile,  with  the  height  of  the  fall; 
while  we  inspect  the  timber  delivered  on  the  ground,  and  observe 
the  operations  of  cutting  off  the  heads  of  the  piles  and  laying  the 
first  course  of  stone,  both  of  which  are  already  in  progress  at  one 
rorner  of  the  building. 

The  piles  on  the  ground  are  straight  spruce  sticks,  with  the  bark 
on,  varying  from  30  to  40  feet  long.  Here  and  there  is  visible  a 
crooked  specimen,  or  one  the  heart  of  which  is  evidently  rotten,  and 
we  mark  all  such  for  rejection.  The  driving  of  the  first  piles  has 
shown  that  the  comparatively  firm  stratum  upon  which  they  must 
rest  is  about  31  feet  below  the  surface,  and  men  are  engaged  in  cut- 
ting off  the  small  ends  of  the  longer  piles  to  bring  them  to  this  di- 
mension. It  is  important  not  to  penetrate  through  the  bearing  stra- 
tum, as  the  ground  is  shown,  by  driving  a  long  experimental  pile,  to 
grow  soft  again  immediately  below  ;  all  that  is  necessary  or  safe  >a 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  313 

to  continue  the  blows  of  the  hammer  until  the  firmer  ground  is 
reached,  which  will  be  shown  by  the  diminished  penetration  of  the 
pile  at  each  impact,  giving  then  only  one  or  two  additional  blows 
to  settle  it  into  its  bed. 

There  is  some  danger  that  the  workmen  may  surreptitiously  en- 
deavor to  save  trouble  for  themselves,  and  money  for  their  employ- 
ers, either  by  driving  the  pile  only  a  portion  of  the  required  distance, 
and  then  cutting  it  off,  or  by  putting  in  shorter,  and  therefore 
cheaper  timbers.  Either  of  these  frauds  will  probably  be  followed, 
sooner  or  later,  by  serious  consequences,  and  the  only  way  to  guard 
against  them  effectually  is  to  witness  in  person,  or  by  an  intelligent 
deputy,  the  driving  of  every  pile.  We  are  somewhat  in  doubt 
whether  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  send  away  all  the  30-foot  piles, 
of  which  there  are  several  on  the  ground,  for  the  reason  that  al- 
though they  would  be  long  enough  to  reach  from  the  hard  stratum 
to  the  water-line,  they  lack  about  two  feet  of  the  length  necessary  to 
extend  from  the  hard  bearing  to  the  present  bottom  of  the  excavation 
where  the  machine  stands.  This,  for  convenience  in  working,  is  not 
dug  down  to  the  water-level,  and  there  is  danger  that  the  short  piles 
may  be  simply  driven  to  the  head  in  the  ground  and  left  there,  with 
their  feet  still  some  distance  from  the  stratum  on  which  they  ought 
to  rest ;  but  in  consideration  of  the  promise  of  the  contractor  to 
bring  no  more  of  the  same  kind,  we  consent  to  have  them  driven  in 
our  presence,  each  one,  after  driving  to  the  head,  being  sunk  farther 
by  means  of  a  "  follower, "  or  short  piece  placed  on  top  of  it,  until  the 
bearing  stratum  is  reached.  When  the  trenches  are  excavated  to  the 
water-line,  which  will  be  done  as  soon  as  the  machine  is  out  of  the 
way,  the  followers  will  be  dug  out,  and  the  piles  under  them  will  then 
be  as  useful  as  any. 

The  operation  of  digging  out  the  piles  is  already  in  progress  in 
another  place.  The  level  of  the  water-line,  or  rather,  of  the  point 
at  a  certain  distance  below  the  average  water-line  where  we  have 
directed  the  piles  to  be  cut  off,  is  fixed  with  reference  to  a  mark  on 
the  side  of  the  excavation,  and  a  steam-pump  is  at  work  to  keep  the 
trenches  clear  of  water  until  the  earth  has  been  removed  to  a  proper 
dopth,  the  heads  of  the  piles  cut  off  at  a  uniform  level,  and  the  cap- 
ping-stones  laid.  Two  men,  with  a  cross-cut  saw  held  between  them, 
are  bending  over  in  the  mud,  sawing  off  the  top  of  a  pile,  which 


3*4  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

another  man  holds  to  prevent  it  from  falling  upon  them.  Observing 
them  from  a  distance,  we  notice  that  in  order  to  relieve  their  backs 
as  far  as  possible  from  the  .fatigue  of  stooping,  as  well  as  to  keep 
their  knuckles  out  of  the  earth  and  water,  they  hold  the  saw  very 
much  bent,  so  that  it  makes  a  concave,  instead  of  a  level  cut  across 
the  head.  As  we  approach,  the  head  of  the  pile,  just  severed,  i? 
purposely  tumbled  over  their  work,  and  the  men  begin  another  cut, 
this  time  with  the  saw  held  straight  between  them.  Looking  about 
the  trench,  we  notice  that  one-third  or  more  of  the  piles  already  cut 
off  exhibit  the  concavity  due  to  the  bending  of  the  saw,  while  others 
have  an  oblique  head,  and  a  few  are  cut  an  inch  or  two  higher  than 
their  neighbors.  Any  of  these  defects  may  compromise  the  safety 
of  the  building,  either  through  the  crushing  of  the  edge  of  a  concave 
cutting  under  the  weight  of  the  superstructure,  or  the  tilting  of  a 
capping-stone  supported  at  one  end  on  a  pile  cut  obliquely  or  out  of 
level ;  and  calling  the  attention  of  the  men,  we  point  out  the  defect- 
ive work,  and  direct  them  to  recut  the  piles  properly  on  the  spot, 
waiting  to  see  our  orders  obeyed. 

Wliile  thus  engaged  we  have  leisure  to  watch  the  stone-laying  just 
beyond.  The  adjustment  of  a  roughly-split  stone  upon  the  heads  of 
two  piles,  so  that  it  may  have  no  tendency  to  rock  or  move  in  any 
way  under  the  great  and  varying  pressure  which  will  be  placed 
upon  it,  is  a  difficult  matter,  and  the  work  should  be  sharply  looked 
after.  The  usual  way  is  to  place  the  stone  in  position,  and  then 
wedge  up  with  stone  or  even  wooden  chips  between  it  and  the  head 
of  the  pile,  until  it  ceases  to  move  when  shaken ;  but  this  mode  is 
open  to  many  objections.  Wooden  chips  are  of  course  inadmis- 
sible, since  they  crush  immediately  under  a  strain ;  and  stone  "  pin- 
ners "are  liable  to  be  broken  or  dislodged,  leaving  the  block  which 
they  were  intended  to  sustain  in  a  condition  of  dangerous  instabil- 
ity. The  best,  although  the  most  troublesome  method  of  capping,  is 
to  select  only  the  stones  with  comparatively  flat  beds,  and  lay  them 
on  the  heads  of  the  piles,  shifting  them  about,  before  they  are  de- 
tached from  the  derrick,  until  they  rest  immovable.  They  will  then 
need  no  pinning  or  wedging,  and  can  be  depended  upon  to  sustain 
without  moving  the  load  which  is  to  be  placed  upon  them.  If  wedg- 
ing should  be  found  absolutely  necessary,  as  may  sometimes  happen, 
the  stones  used  to  pin  up  with  should  be  well-shaped,  strong,  and 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  81  i 

securely  placed  upon  the  head  of  the  pile,  so  as  to  be  in  no  danger 
of  shaking  out  or  crumbling.  With  the  same  object  of  avoiding  all 
tendency  on  the  part  of  the  capping-stones  to  rock  under  the  load, 
no  stone  should  rest  upon  more  than  three  piles,  unless  both  it  and 
the  heads  of  the  piles  have  been  dressed  to  a  perfectly  plane  surface, 
and  with  rough  stones  it  is  not  easy  to  get  a  good  bearing  even  on 
three  piles  at  once. 

After  explaining  our  ideas  on  these  points  to  the  foreman  of  the 
stone-layers,  whose  opinion  coincides  with  our  own,  we  return  to  the 
front  wall,  where  the  pile-driving  machine  has  arrived  before  us,  and 
are  troubled  to  find  that  the  ground  appears  softer  there  than  under 
the  other  portions  of  the  structure.  As  we  approach  the  row  of  iso- 
lated piers  forming  the  middle  of  the  front,  the  piles  sink  under  the 
last  blow  of  the  hammer  from  three  to  four  inches,  instead  of  two 
and  one-half  or  three  inches,  showing  that  a  variation  has  taken 
place  in  the  texture  of  the  clay  stratum  upon  which  they  rest.  A 
trial  pile  driven  by  means  of  a  foHower  to  a  depth  of  40  feet  sinks 

O  O  O  O 

O 

O 

O 

O  O 

Fig.  194. 

at  that  distance  more  rapidly  than  ever,  and  we  are  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  bottom  at  31  feet,  although  poor  enough,  is  the 
best  to  be  had.  A  simple  calculation  is,  however,  sufficient  to  show 
that  it  is  unsafe  to  trust  the  weight  of  the  piers  upon  it  without  add- 
ing to  the  number  of  piles  under  them,  and  thus  diminishing  the 
load  upon  each  point  of  support.  Supposing  the  sinking  of  each 
pile  at  the  last  blow,  under  the  actual  conditions,  to  be  four  inches, 
the  weight  which  it  could  be  relied  upon  to  sustain  safely  would  be 
4£  tons,  and  the  number  needed  to  support  the  load  of  194253  pounds, 
which  was  previously  calculated  as  the  weight  on  each  pier,  would 
be  22,  allowing  for  the  slight  additional  weight  of  stone  required  to 
cover  the  more  extended  base. 

The  ground  is,  however,  hardly  so  soft  as  this,  the  average  being 
about  3$  inches  sinking  at  the  last  blow,  and  we  shah  be  safe  in 


316  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

changing  our  plan,  and  staking  out  20  instead  of  16  piles  under  eacL 
pier,  as  shown  in  Figure  194,  remembering  that  if  the  ground  should 
grow  still  worse  it  will  be  necessary  to  add  to  the  number  by  driving 
extra  rows  on  each  side.  Happily,  this  does  not  prove  to  be  the 
case,  and  we  are  able,  when  the  driving  is  over,  to  rest  assured  that 
whatever  else  may  befall  our  building,  the  failure  of  the  piles  is  not 
to  be  feared.  4, 

We  need  dwell  no  more  upon  the  details  of  construction  of  our 
building,  which  would  now  differ  little  from  those  of  any  other,  but 
will  proceed  at  once  to  consider  the  necessary  means  for  heating  and 
means  for  heating  and  ventilating  the  various  i  ooms. 
V*at! lotion    Success  in  this  point  will  be  a  matter  of  some  diffi- 
culty, and  we  should  have  our  scheme  well  prepared 
in  advance,  in  order  that  the  necessary  distribution  of    flues  and 
pipes  may  be  effected  to  the  best  advantage. 

The   only  practicable  method  of  conveying  heat  from  a  single 
source  to  all  points  of  so  large  a  building  is  to  employ  steam,  and 
although  steam-heating  is  in  many  respects  inferior  to  that  by  means 
of  hot  water  or  ordinary  furnaces,  we  have  no  alter- 
steam.       native,  and  must  try  to  mitigate  the  bad  features  of 
the  system  as  much  as  possible.     For  the  smaller  rooms,  the  evil  to 
be  avoided  is  the  closeness,  from  want  of  a  fresh-air  supply,  which 
generally  characterizes  steam-heated  offices,  and  to  remedy  this  we 
shall  do  best  to  adopt  what  is  known  as  the  direct-indirect  mode  of 
heating,  in  which  the  radiators  stand  in  the  rooms,  but  are  made  to 
enclose  a  space  into  which  air  is  admitted  directly 
recTwethod.  from  tlie  outsi(le  of  tlie  building,  to  pass,  after  being 
warmed   by  contact  with  the  pipes  of  the  ra<JUtor, 
into  the  room.     The  large  hall  in  the  second  story  must  be  heated 
in  a  somewhat  different  way,  since  it  would  not  be  possible  to  place 
radiators  in  the  interior  of  the  room,  but  it  will  be  advantageous  to 
keep  them  as  near  the  part  to  be  warmed  as  possible.     The  source 
of  heat  for  the  entire  building  will  be  a  boiler  placed  in  the  base- 
ment, and  we  should  get  some  notion  of  the  necessary  size  of  the 
boiler,  and  of  the  flue  to  carry  off  the  smoke  from  it,  in  time  to  pro- 
portion the  rooms  suitably. 

We  can  form  a  rough  estimate  of  the  radiating  surface  required, 
and  thence  of  the  sizes  of  pipes,  boilers  and  flues,  by  allowing 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  817 

one-tenth  of  a  square  foot  radiating  surface  to  each  square  foot  of 
plain  wall  and  exposed  roof  surface,  and  seven-tenths 
of  a  square  foot  of  radiating  surface  additional  for   Estimate  of 
each  square  foot  of  glass  iu  the  windows.     The  build-face  required, 
ing  has  about  33,000  square  feet  of  outside  wall  and 
15,000  square  feet  of  interior  wall,  and  to  this  must  be  added  12,000 
square  feet  of  roof  surface,  exposed  to  the  interior  of  the  rooms, 
making  60,000  square  feet  of  roof  and  wall,  requiring  6,000  square 
feet  of  radiating  surface.     Of  glass  in  the  various  openings  there  is 
about  5,600  square  feet,  seven-tenths  of  which  will  give  3,920  feet 
additional  of  radiating  surface,  making   9,920   square   feet  in  all. 
The  rule  sometimes  used,  of  allowing  for  direct-indirect  radiation 
one  and  a  half  square  feet  of  radiating  surface  for  every  100  cubic 
feet  of  space  contained  in  the  building,  would  give,  as  we  have  about 
900,000  cubic  feet,  13,500  square  feet  of  radiating  surface ;  but  this 
would  be  an  excessive  allowance  for  the  large  hall  in  the  second 
story,  and  our  first  estimate  is  quite  safe. 

By  the  asual  rule  for  estimating,  the  heating  surface  of  the  boiler 
must  be  one-tenth  that  of  the  radiating  surfaces,  which  would  give 
here  992  square  feet.     This  could  be  obtained  by  using  a  horizontal 
boiler  5  feet  in  diameter  and  20  feet  long,  with  about 
60  tubes,  but  a  single  boiler  of  this  kind  would  not     Necessary 
work  to  such  advantage  as  two,  presenting  together^,^*/^®  J£ 
the  same  amount  of  heating  surface ;  and  there  is  here 
the  further  advantage  in  using  two  boilers,  that  one  can  be  employed 
solely  for  heating  the  hall  in  the  upper  story,  which  is  only  occasion- 
ally in  use,  while  the  other  can  be  devoted  independently  to  warming 
the  offices  in  the  first  story  and  basement  of  the  building,  which  are  oc- 
cupied almost  continuously.     We  must  therefore  make  a  new  calcu- 
lation, which  shows  us  that  the  hall  in  the  second  story  will  require  al- 
most exactly  one-half  of  the  total  radiating  surface,  so  that  two  boilers 
just  alike,  each  containing  500  square  feet  of  heating  surface,  will 
answer  admirably.     As  an  engineer  will  be  constantly  employed,  it 
will  be  most  convenient  and  economical  to  use  two  horizontal  boilers, 
each  4  feet  in  diameter,  20  feet  long,  and  containing  30  tubes.   Each 
of  these  boilers  will  need,  in  order  to  be  able  to  get 
up  steam  quickly,  about  20  square  feet  of  grate  sur.CrateSurfuc«- 
face,  and  we  shall  require,  to  carry  away  the  gases  ot  combustion 


318  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

quickly  from  these  grates,  when  both  are  in  operation,  a  chimney  of 
the  best  form  with  a  sectional  area  of  about  13  square  ihches  to  each 

square  foot  of  grate  surfacjg.    We  have  40  square  feet 
!eof  Srate  surface,  and  must  have,  therefore,  520  square 

inches  of  sectional  area  of  chimney.  The  height  of 
the  chimney  would  enter  into  the  calculation  to  a  certain  extent, 
since  the  velocity  of  the  current  increases  with  the  height  cf  ths 
heated  column,  but  this  advantage  is  soon  lost  in  prolonging  the  shaft 
to  an  excessive  height,  and  we  shall  obtain  the  best  results  by  assum- 
ing only  the  average  dimensions.  The  sectional  area  thus  calculated 
should  be  obtained  in  a  square  or  circular  flue,  as  an  oblong  one,  with 

the  same  area,  has  much  less  capacity  for  carrying 
ape  of  lue«away  smoke.  Considering  the  circumstances  of  our 
building,  it  will  be  found  most  advantageous  to  employ  a  circular 
cast-iron  smoke-pipe,  and  to  place  it  in  the  ventilating  shaft  which 
forms  a  portion  of  the  tower,  so  that  the  heat  radiated  from  it  may 
assist  the  upward  current  in  the  ventilating  flue.  A  pipe  28  inches 
in  diameter  will  give  the  requisite  sectional  area,  or  a  little  more  ; 
and  as  it  will  be  128  feet  in  height  we  can  be  sure  of  a  good  velocity 
in  it.  The  only  objection  to  such  a  position  for  the  chimney  is  the 
danger  of  disfiguring  the  upper  portion  of  the  tower  with  smoke ; 
but  by  carrying  the  pipe  through  the  roof  of  the  smaller  turret  it 
will  discharge  the  smoke  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  main  bel- 
fry to  make  sure  that  it  will  be  carried  away  by  the  wind. 

The  position  of  the  boilers  will  be  determined  in  general  by  that 
of  the  chimney,  since  it  is  desirable  that  the  communication  between 

the  smoke  connection  01  the  boilers  and  the  chimney 
P<BoVlere?f    should  be  as  direct  as  possible,  avoiding  long  pipes, 

which  chill  the  gases,  and  underground  flues,  in  which 
it  is  difficult  to  start  a  current.  Fortunately,  we  have  kept  this 
point  in  view,  and  have  arranged  a  room  in  the  corner  of  the  base- 
ment, close  to  the  tower,  large  enough,  not  only  for  placing  and 
managing  the  boilers,  but  for  passing  all  around  and  over  them,  with 
sufficient  space  in  front  of  them  for  handling  the  long  flue-brushes 
and  scrapers  which  will  be  required. 

We  may  now  estimate  roughly  the  size  of  the  largest  pipes  which 
will  be  required,  and  we  shall  then  know  what  special  provision  must 
be  made  in  the  instruction  of  the  building  for  placing  them, 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  319 

Taking  the  safe  rule  that  the  main  distributing  pipes  should  have  a 
sectional  area  equivalent  to  eight-tenths  of  a  square 
inch  for  each  100  square  feet  of  radiating  surface  sup-  S'zeof  Main 
plied  by  them,  we  shall  find,  since  each  boiler  furnishes 
steam  to  4960  square  feet  of  radiating  surface,  that  each  main  steam* 
pipe  must  be  a  little  more  than  7  inches  in  diameter  inside.     As  no 
pipe  is  made  between  7  and  8  inch,  and  as  8  inch  is  much  larger 
than  would  be  necessary,  we  will  determine  upon  7-inch  pipe.     The 
risers,  or  pipes  which  run  up  to  supply  the  radiators  above  will  be 
small,  none  being  more  than  3  inches  in  diameter,  and  we  shall  have 
no  difficulty  in  carrying  them  up  in  4"  x  4"  recesses  left  in  the  wail 
at  the  proper  places,  which  it  will  be  well  to  mark  on  the  plans  at 
once. 

Before  this  can  be  done,  however,  we  must  determine  all  the  main 
features  of  our  system  of  ventilation  as  well  as  heating,  and  the 
sooner  we  make  up  our  minds  about  this  the  better. 

For  the  basement  and  first  story  rooms  the  plan  of  ventilation 
should  be  as  simple  as  possible.  Fresh  air  will  be  admitted  behind 
the  radiators  in  each  room,  which  should  stand  under 
the  windows,  in  order  that  the  warmth  from  them 
may  counteract  the  descending  stream  of  cold  air 
which,  in  winter,  always  flows  over  the  surface  of  the  glass,  and 
foul  air  will  best  be  taken  out  at  two  points,  one  near  the  top 
and  the  other  near  the  bottom  of  the  room.  For  the  offices  which 
have  fireplaces,  the  opening  of  this  will  form  the  lower  outlet,  but 
another  should  be  provided  near  the  ceiling,  communicating  with  a 
flue  which  may  be  carried  up  beside  the  fireplace  flue.  Where  there 
is  no  fireplace,  two  flues,  one  opening  near  the  floor,  and  the  other 
near  the  ceiling,  will  be  necessary.  If  the  combined  area  of  these 
outlets  is  made  somewhat  greater  than  that  of  the  inlet,  a  gentle 
current  will  be  maintained  at  all  levels  in  the  room,  and  the  air  kept 
in  better  condition  than  would  be  possible  with  a  single  outlet.  As 
the  small  rooms  are  occupied  only  by  a  few  officers  and  clerks,  the 
supply  of  fresh  air  need  not  be  very  large,  and  a  4-inch  round  pipe 
to  each  radiator  would  make  an  ample  inlef.  For  outlets,  brick 
flues  8''  x  12"  will  be  best,  and  each  flue  may  open  with  small  regis- 
ters both  in  basement  and  first  story,  remembering,  however,  that 
two  openings  must  not  be  made  in  any  flue  in  the  same  story,  and 


420  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

that  a  flue  whic  li  exhausts  from  the  floor  of  the  basement  rooms  must 
always,  if  it  opens  in  the  second  story,  exhaust  from  the  floor  there 
also,  and  that  in  the  same  -way  the  ceding  registers  in  the  first- 
story  rooms  should  open  into  the  flue  which  draws  from  the  ceiling 
of  the  basement  rooms.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  two  fireplaces 
should  not  under  any  circumstances  open  into  the  same  flue,  and 
that  the  outlet  registers  in  the  basement  rooms  must  not  ha-ve  a  clear 
opening  greater  than  half  the  sectional  area  of  the  flues  into  which 
they  open,  if  any  air  is  to  be  drawn  into  the  same  flues  from  the 
rooms  above. 

As  the  entrance-way  and  corridor  in  the  first  story  and  basement 
will  naturally  be  more  or  less  foul,  a  good  current  of  air  should  at 
all  times  be  maintained  through  them.  The  frequent  opening  of  the 
doors  will  furnish  a  sufficient  fresh-air  supply,  without  bringing 
special  pipes  to  the  radiators,  and  it  will  be  of  advantage  to  restrict 
the  inlets,  but  increase  the  outlet,  encouraging  the  exhaust  in  other 
ways  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  the  draft  from  the  corridor  will  be 
stronger  than  that  in  the  rooms,  and  the  current  will,  on  opening  the 
doors,  tend  consequently  from  the  room  into  the  corridor,  and  no- 
vice versa.  We  will  therefore  provide  only  direct  radiation  for  warm- 
ing the  corridors,  and  will  conduct  the  air  from  them  by  a  pipe  pass- 
ing through  the  closets  at  the  end  opposite  the  staircase  to  the  gable 
wall,  where  a  large  flue  is  ready  to  receive  it  and  carry  it  away.  If 
there  should  be  any  difficulty  in  maintaining  a  current  through  this 
flue  in  cold  weather,  we  can  afterwards  place  a  radiator  in  it,  a  little 
above  the  level  of  the  second-story  floor ;  but  the  wall  is  of  grea:. 
thickness,  and  we  can  easily  build  in  it  a  flue  20"  x  20",  or  20"  a 
24",  perfectly  straight,  and  100  feet  high,  which  will  be  very  little 
liable  to  a  reversal  of  the  current  in  it,  even  without  artificial  heating. 
Having  now  provided  for  the  separate  removal  of  the  air  in  the 
basement  and  first  story,  which  we  wish  to  prevent  from  ascending 
the  stairs  to  annoy  the  occupants  of  the  hall  above,  we  must  arrange 

for  a  special  supply  to  the  latter.    The  hall,  with  the 
Ventilating    gallery,  will  seat  about  1000  persons,  and  to  make 

them  quite  comfortable  during  an  evening  they  should 
be  furnished  with  at  least  1500  cubic  feet  each  of  fresh  air  per  hour ; 
and  this  air  must,  moreover,  be  warmed  in  winter  before  delivery, 
and  conducted  throughout  the  room  gently  and  uniformly,  leaving  no 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  321 

corner  unvisited,  and  dispersing  itself  everywhere  rapidly  but  without 
sensible  currents.  The  system  must  include  every  part  of  the  room, 
since  any  portion  unswept  by  the  flow  of  air  will  become  a  reservoir 
of  decaying  organic  particles,  which  will  diffuse  themselves  through 
the  neighboring  atmosphere  for  some  distance  in  all  directions.  We 
will  at  first  consider  the  winter  ventilation  only,  that  for  summer  be- 
ing simpler,  but  completely  different. 

A.S  in  the  rooms  below,  we  have  decided  to  use  the  direct-indirect 
method  of  steam  heating  in  the  hall,  placing  large  radiators  under 
the  windows  on  all  sides,  and  supplying  each  radiator  with  a  given 
quantity  of  fresh  air  from  the  outside,  to  be  warmed  by  contact  with 
it,  and  then  delivered  into  the  room.  The  persons  seated  next  the 
walls,  who  would  otherwise  be  exposed  to  the  chilling  currents  which 
descend  along  the  surface  of  the  windows,  and  to  a  much  smaller  ex- 
tent along  the  plastering,  will  then  be  doubly  protected,  by  the  de- 
flection of  the  cold  currents  on  meeting  the  warm  streams  rising  from 
the  radiators,  and  by  the  direct  influence  of  the  warm  rays  falling 
upon  their  bodies  from  the  hot  pipes.  As  those  occupying  the  seats 
at  the  edges  of  the  room  will  thus  be  warmed  by  direct  radiation,  the 
air  supplied  to  them  need  not  be  so  warm  as  if  it  were  the  only 
source  of  heat ;  and  the  current  delivered  from  the  radiators,  if  suf- 
ficiently abundant,  need  not  be  raised  above  90°  Fahrenheit.  This 
will  answer  also  for  the  persons  in  the  interior  of  the  room,  who,  al- 
though cut  off  in  part  from  the  heat  radiated  by  the  steam  coils,  are 
less  exposed  to  cold  currents  from  tue  windows,  and  receive,  more- 
over, a  very  considerable  amount  of  warmth  radiated  from  the  bodies 
of  those  around  them.  With  this  human  warmth,  however,  is  given 
off  a  certain  amount  of  organic  exhalation,  so  that  the  air  in  the 
centre  of  the  room  will  be  less  pure  than  that  nearer  the  fresh-air 
openings  at  the  sides,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  furnish  the  middle 
portions  with  an  additional  supply.  In  many  buildings  this  could  be 
dons  by  placing  registers  in  the  aisles  between  the  seats,  introducing 
at  small  intervals  air  taken  fresh  from  the  outside,  warmed  in  the 
basement  and  sent  up  through  pipes,  but  we  have  to  bear  in  mind 
that  our  hall  will  often  be  used  for  dancing,  so  that  registers  in  any 
part  of  the  floor  will  be  quite  inadmissible,  and  some  other  place 
must  be  found  for  delivering  the  air. 

There  are  but  two  other  positions  where  inlets  can  be  placed 


322  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

neai  the  floor,  one  of  these  being  the  vertical  front  of  the  stage 
and  the  other  the  front  of  the  gallery.  Both  of  these  will  do,  and 
ure  will  arrange  to  use  them,,  although  in  different  ways.  The 
front  of  the  stage  being  separated,  sometimes  by  an  orchestra,  some' 
times  merely  by  an  open  space,  from  the  front  rows  of  seats,  may  be 
used  as  a  great  register,  throwing  in  air  along  its  whole  extent,  and 
the  air  so  introduced  will,  in  its  passage  across  the  orchestra  space, 
diffuse  and  mix  itself  with  other  currents,  thereby  losing  its  original 
impetus,  and  reaching  the  occupants  of  the  front  benches  as  a  breeze 
so  gentle  as  to  be  hardly  felt.  This  stage  front  will,  in  fact,  offer  the 
best  position  in  the  room  for  the  advantageous  introduction  of  air, 
and  we  must  arrange  for  taking  it  by  ample  openings  from  the  out- 
side into  the  space  under  the  stage,  and  for  warming  it  by  radiators 
before  delivering  itjnto  the  auditorium.  Some  of  the  radiators  may 
be  placed  close  to  tlie  open  gratings  of  the  front,  where  their  di- 
rect warmth  will  be  felt  by  the  persons  nearest  them,  who  are  most 
exposed  to  the  current. 

By  taking  advantage  of  the  shape  of  the  space  under  the  stage,  we 
shall  be  able  to  secure  a  gentle  but  strong  horizontal  delivery  of  the 
warmed  air,  which  will  send  it  well  toward  the  centre  of  the  room 
before  it  begins  to  ascend,  and  the  portion  of  the  auditorium  nearest 
the  stage  will  thus  be  supplied  with  fresh  air  throughout  its  whole 
extent.  For  the  remaining  half  we  will  take  fresh  air  from  the  rear 
wall,  under  the  front  of  the  gallery,  but  in  a  manner  slightly  different 
from  that  employed  for  the  first  portion.  In  order  to  throw  the  supply 
from  this  direction  well  into  the  centre  of  the  auditorium,  we  shall 
need  to  bring  it  in  with  considerable  velocity,  and  as  the  seats  for 
the  audience  extend  to  a  point  within  a  few  feet  of  the  gallery  front, 
the  current,  if  allowed  to  strike  the  persons  sitting  in  them,  would  t€ 
felt  as  a  disagreeable  and  even  dangerous  draught,  so  that  we  shall 
do  best  to  introduce  the  greater  part  of  it  at  a  height  of  ten  or 
twelve  feet  above  the  ground.  In  this  way  the  main  current  will 
pass  above  the  heads  of  those  sitting  near  the  inlet  registers,  the  air 
diffusing  itself  so  as  to  come  within  reach  of  the  lungs  of  the  audi- 
ence only  in  proportion  as  it  loses  velocity.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment, the  greater  the  force  with  which  it  enters  the  room  the  more 
effective  will  the  stream  be  in  reaching  and  stirring  up  the  atmo&- 
phere  of  the  middle  portions,  and  we  may  with  Advantage  place  the 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  323 

radiators  for  heating  it  in  the  basement,  and  bring  the  air  up  by 
pipes  through  the  offices  in  the  basement  and  first  story.  By  making 
the  pipes  straight,  with  a  curved  elbow  at  the  top  to  direct  the  current 
into  the  room,  we  shall  obtain  a  heated  column  long  enough  to  possess 
a  very  considerable  buoyant  tendency,  and  the  air  will  be  thrown  into 
the  hall  with  force  enough  to  carry  it  to  the  centre  before  it  will 
begin  to  rise.  To  complete  the  supply  of  fresh  air  for  the  room,  we 
must  furnish  the  occupants  of  the  rear  rows,  who  will  receive  little 
benefit  from  the  currents  passing  over  their  heads,  with  some  sepa- 
rate inlets  near  the  floor,  bringing  the  air  in  through  exposed  steam 
coils  in  the  direct-indirect  manner,  so  that,  as  at  the  sides  of  the 
room,  the  chill  caused  to  the  persons  near  by  the  movement  of  the 
incoming  air,  which,  slight  as  it  is,  increases  the  evaporation  from 
the  skin,  and  causes  a  sensation  of  cold,  together  with  the  loss  of 
heat  due  to  radiation  from  the  body  to  the  cold  walls,  and  the  un- 
pleasant draughts  caused  by  accidental  currents,  may  be  compensated 
by  the  warm  rays  from  the  pipes. 

We  shall  now  have,  for  the  main  portion  of  the  auditorium,  cur- 
rents of  fresh  air  proceeding  from  all  sides,  and  meeting  in  the 
centre.  The  currents  from  front  and  rear  are  purposely  directed 
with  considerable  force  in  a  horizontal  direction,  and  those  fron.  the 
sides,  which  are,  so  to  speak,  pressed  upon  by  the  descending  cold 
air  from  the  window  surfaces,  will  be  deflected  in  the  same  direction, 
and  this  impulse,  aided  by  the  natural  adhesion  of  moving  air  to  the 
surfaces  with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  will  serve  to  keep  at  least 
the  heads  of  the  occupants  of  the  room  in  a  pure  and  constantly  re- 
newed atmosphere.  On  the  meeting  of  the  currents  in  the  middle, 
their  horizontal  movement  will  be  destroyed,  and  the  buoyant  force 
due  to  the  heat  of  the  mass  of  air,  which  has  grown  warmer  in  pass- 
ing among  the  bodies  of  the  people,  will  assert  itself,  carrying  the 
whole  upward.  Then,  if  not  otherwise  disposed  of,  it  will  become 
chilled  by  contact  with  the  underside  of  the  cold  roof,  and  will 
descend  along  the  surfaces  of  the  roof,  walls  and  windows,  to  mingle 
again  with  the  incoming  air  from  the  radiators,  and  repeat  the  same 
round.  This  would  not  only  contaminate  the  freshness  of  the  new 
supply,  but  would  very  much  reduce  its  amount,  since  air  cannot  be 
forced  by  ordinary  means  into  a  room  which  is  full  already,  so  that 
we  must,  to  secure  a  continuance  of  the  flow  of  pure  air,  remove  th* 


524  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

vitiated  atmosphere  before  it  can  descend  to  the  level  of  the  incom- 
ing currents. 

If  the  movement  of  the  air  were  positive,  enough  to  carry  il,  after 
rising  above  the  heads  of  the  people,  directly  to  the  roof,  it  might 
be  best  to  take  it  from  the  ridge,  but  in  cold  weather  this  would 
hardly  be  the  case,  much  of  the  air  becoming  chilled  and  returning 
downward  before  reaching  that  point,  so  that  we  shall  doibetter  to 
exhaust  it  from  the  level  of  the  cornice,  a  little  above  the  line  of 
separation  between  the  lower,  fresh,  warm  and  horizontally  moving 
stratum,  and  the  upper  stratum  of  vitiated,  gradually-cooling  and 
descending  air.  If  the  hall  were  of  a  perfectly  simple  shape,  this 
upper  stratum  would  move  uniformly  all  around,  but  there  are  two 
causes  which  will  give  it  a  tendency  toward  the  stage  end  of  the 
room.  One  of  these  is  the  attraction  of  the  stage  ventilation,  which 
draws  the  upper  air  sensibly  toward  the  proscenium-arch ;  and  the 
other  is  the  pressure  of  the  air  from  the  gallery,  which,  introduced 
through  radiators  at  the  sides  and  rear,  will  move  forward  into  the 
main  body  of  the  auditorium,  pushing  the  stratum  in  front  of  it  in 
the  same  direction.  The  mass  of  air  which  we  wish  to  remove  will 
thus  be  impelled  gently  against  the  proscenium  wall,  and  can  be  re- 
moved most  effectively  by  openings  in  that  wall,  through  which  it 
can  continue  its  course  into  the  ventilation-shaft  and  away  from  the 
building.  These  openings  can  have  any  decorative  shape,  and 
should  communicate  with  a  conduit  behind  the  proscenium  wall,  car- 
ried into  the  main  ventilating  flue. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  plan  of  ventilation  is  totally  different  from 
that  which  would  be  adopted  in  a  school-room,  or  other  apartment 
with  a  low,  flat  ceiling.  In  such  a  room  the  best  method  would 
generally  be  to  employ  indirect  radiation  entirely,  warming  the 
fresh  air  in  the  basement,  and  bringing  it  up  through  long  verti- 
cal pipes  opening  into  the  room  by  registers  in  the  side  walls, 
seven  or  eight  feet  above  the  floor,  withdrawing  the  cold  and 
foul  air  below,  by  exhaust  registers  in  or  near  the  floor.  By  this 
arrangement  the  fresh,  warm  air  would  pass  first  to  the  ceiling,  fill- 
ing the  room  like  an  inverted  lake,  and  constantly  pressing  out  the 
foul  strata  below,  without  danger  of  annoying  the  occupants  of  the 
rooms  by  draughts. 

In  the  preset  case,  however,  we  are  precluded  from  employing 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  325 

any  method  of  this  kind  by  the  great  height  of  the  ceiling,  and  the 
extent  of  cooling  surface  presented  by  the  roof.  The  warm  air  in- 
troduced at  any  considerable  height  above  the  floor  would  rise  imme- 
diately to  the  ridge^  cooling  there  with  great  rapidity,  to  be  precipi- 
tated again  in  colt?  draughts  upon  the  heads  of  the 
people  below,  who  would  remain  immersed  in  a  chilly 
atmosphere  even  though  that  above  them  might  be 
warmed  to  a  temperature  of  100°  or  more.  It  would  be  impractica- 
ble to  fill  so  great  a  space,  losing  heat,  moreover,  so  rapidly  as  would 
be  inevitable  under  the  circumstances,  with  anything  approaching  the 
inverted  atmospheric  lake  of  a  low  room,  and  our  only  resource  here 
is  therefore  to  keep  the  fresh-air  supply  near  the  floor,  avoiding  un- 
pleasant draughts  as  much  as  possible,  but  directing  all  the  warm 
currents  so  that  they  may  reach  those  who  are  to  breathe  them  be- 
fore they  can  escape  from  the  slight  attraction  exerted  upon  them  by 
the  floor  and  the  objects  near  it,  and  rise  into  the  empty  space  above, 
to  be  lost  beyond  recovery. 

The  course  of  circulation  of  the  air  being  once  determined,  many 
circumstances  can  be  made  use  of  to  promote  it,  and  all  obstacles 
should  be  removed.  Radiators  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  such  a  posi- 
tion that  the  inevitable  ascending  current  from  them  will  interfere 
with  the  general  movement,  and  even  the  aspect  of  the  different 
portions  of  the  room  will  need  to  be  considered,  the  northern  and 
western  sides  being  generally  coldest  in  winter,  and  chilling  the  air 
next  to  them  so  as  to  cause  it  to  descend,  while  that  on  the  opposite 
side  rises,  in  a  movement  of  gentle  rotation,  which  can  be  checked, 
if  it  should  interfere  with  the  desired  system  of  circulation,  by  in- 
creasing the  radiating  surface  near  the  cold  walls. 

Such  ventilation  as  this  is  of  course  dependent  upon  the  differ- 
ence in  temperature  between  the  exterior  and  interior  air,  and  the 
movements  due  to  the  buoyancy  of  warm  currents  in  a  cold  atmos- 
phere will  cease  entirely  as  soon  as  the  temperature  outside  and  in- 
side become  the  same.   For  summer  ventilation,  there- 
fore, we  shall  need  to  devise  a  modified  system,  which  ventilation, 
can  at  pleasure  be  substituted  for  the  other,  but  will 
not  interfere  with  it  at  other  times.    Fortunately,  summer  is  also  the 
time  of  open  windows,  and  the  warm-weather  ventilation  is,  in  such 
a  case  as  this,  a  much  simpler  affair  than  that  needed  for  winter. 


826  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

The  occupants  of  the  offices  in  the  basement  and  first  story  will  keep 
their  windows  generally  as  wide  open  as  possible  in  the  hot  months, 
and  if  we  remember  tc  provide  fan-lights  over  the  doors,  and  to 
place  the  doors  opening  on  the  corridor  nearly  opposite  each  other, 
we  can  secure  for  them  an  almost  constant  draught  across  the 
width  of  the  building,  which  will  keep  the  rooms  as  fresh  as  could 
be  desired.  The  corridor  itself,  if  much  frequented,  may  ne^ed,  even 
in  summer,  to  be  exhausted  by  means  of  its  special  flue,  which  must 
in  that  case  be  kept  heated  by  a  large  gas-burner,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve that  difference  in  temperature  between  the  air  inside  the  flue 
and  the  outside  atmosphere  on  which  the  movement  of  the  former 
entirely  depends. 

For  the  great  hall  in  the  second  story  we  shall  need  something 
more  than  open  windows,  not  for  the  sake  of  a  fresh-air  supply, 
since  these  large  openings,  placed  opposite  each  other  in  so  long  a 
building,  isolated  from  all  others,  would  give  a  breeze  across  the 
room  in  the  hottest  night,  but  to  remove  the  air  which  would,  'inless 
allowed  to  escape,  collect  under  the  roof,  filling  the  space  down  to 
the  heads  of  the  windows  with  a  stagnant  mass,  often  very  much 
heated  by  contact  with  the  underside  of  the  slated  roof,  upon  which 
the  sun  shines  all  day,  and  always  containing  most  of  the  organic 
impurities  thrown  off  by  the  lungs  and  skins  of  the  people  below, 
which  rise  with  their  warm  breath  even  in  the  atmosphere  of  sum- 
mer. This  reservoir  of  foul  and  heated  vapor,  although  confined  to 
the  space  above  the  sweep  of  the  fresh  breeze  from  the  windows,  is 
apt  to  make  its  presence  disagreeably  felt  by  diffusion  through  the 
purer  atmosphere  far  below  it,  and  it  is  important  to  provide  for 
tapping  it,  so  to  speak,  and  allowing  its  contents  to  flow,  in  accord- 
ance with  their  natural  buoyancy,  upward  from  the  highest  point  of 
the  roof  into  the  outer  air.  It  wo  aid  be  useless  to  try  to  draw  the 
foul,  warm  air  downward  as  far  as  the  openings  into  the  tower  ven- 
tilating-shaft,  since  its  buoyant  force,  after  a  day  of  summer  sun- 
shine, is  far  too  great  to  be  counteracted  by  any  exhaust  which  could 
be  obtained  in  the  ventilating-shaft  without  the  aid  of  a  fan  ;  and  it 
is  very  desirable  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  acquired  tendency  of 
the  stratum  of  air  which  we  wish  to  remove,  to  assist  its  discharge. 
For  this  purpose  an  open  turret  on  the  ridge  answers  perhaps  better 
lhan  anything  else.  The  length  of  the  warm  current  ascending 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  82? 

through  it  assists  the  velocity,  and  helps  to  draw  up  that  which  wou » J 
tend  to  linger  behind ;  and  its  position  at  the  summit  of  the  roof  en- 
sures the  removal  of  the  last  traces  of  the  warm  and  foul  stratum. 
So  long  as  any  persons  remain  in  the  hall,  or  gas-lights  continue  to 
burn  there,  new  volumes  of  deteriorated  air  will  ascend  to  take  the 
place  of  that  discharged  from  the  ridge,  but  if  not  allowed  to  stag- 
nate, or  accumulate  heat  from  the  roof,  they  will  not  affect  the  at- 
mosphere below. 

Having  now  evolved  a  satisfactory  general  scheme  of  heating  and 
ventilation,  the  details  only  will  need  attention,  and  these  will  not,  for 
our  present  purpose,  detain  us  long.  After  the  contract  for  the  heating 
apparatus  has  been  made,  and  the  contractor  has  made  his  appear- 
ance, with  his  materials,  upon  the  gronnd,  we  shall 
need  to  examine,  and  if  necessary  to  criticise,  the     Details  of 
construction  of  the  boiler,  the  dimensions  of  the  pipes,Heatl"s  Appa" 
and  the  arrangement  of  them  and  of  the  radiators. 

Many  good  heating  engineers  employ  boilers  and  radiators  of 
their  own  construction,  to  which  the  arrangement  of  the  pipes  must 
be  suited ;  but  there  are  some  general  principles  applicable  to  all 
systems.  The  essential  features  of  a  good  steam-heating  apparatus 
are :  safety  from  all  risk  of  explosion,  sufficient  and  well-placed  ra- 
diating surfaces,  freedom  from  noise  in  operation,  and  thorough 
drainage  of  all  parts,  so  that  the  pipes  and  radiators  may  not  be 
subject  to  injury  from  water  left  standing  in  them,  and  freezing. 

The  first  of  these  requisites  is  satisfied  in  various  ways. 

Many  engineers,   instead  of  boilers  with  a  single  shell,  use  for 
heating  the  so-called  "  sectional  boilers,"  consisting  of  coils  or  groups 
of  pipes,  sometimes  of  wrought-iron,  but  generally  cast,  joined  to- 
gether in  sets  of  five  or  six  or  even  more,  over  a  sin- 
gle fire-box.     The  water  and  steam  circulate  freely      Boilers? 
among  the  sections,  but  in  case  of  over-heating,  or 
insufficient  water-supply,  not  more  than  one  section  is  likely  to  giv« 
way  at  once,  and  the  explosion  of  a   single  section,  even  in  the 
basement  of  a  dwelling-house,  is  rarely  a  serious  matter.     Cast-iron 
boilers  of  this  kind  are  rather  liable  to  such  accidents,  but  the  es- 
cape of  water  from  the  broken  part  extinguishes  the  fire,  and  a  new 
section  is  quickly  put  in  place  of  the  one  destroyed,  making  the 
boiler  as  good  as  ever. 


328  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

For  convenience  in  use,  it  is  becoming  common  to  ailopt  wbnt  are 
known  as  "  magazine  boilers,"  in  which  the  fire-box  is  fed  in  the 
same  way  as  a  base-burning  stove,  by  coal  descending  gradually 
from  a  cylindrical  or  conical  magazine  above.  Un- 
^e  a  hot-air  furnace,  which  distributes  some  warmth 
through  the  registers  until  the  last  spark  of  fire  has 
gone  out,  and  the  ashes  have  grown  cold,  a  steam-heating  a^paratae, 
as  soon  as  the  water  in  it  ceases  to  boil,  and  the  steam-pressure  falls, 
loses  all  its  power  of  transmitting  warmth  to  a  distance,  and  the 
rooms  dependent  upon  it  rapidly  cool.  With  ordinary  house  boilers, 
while  it  is  easy  enough  to  bank  up  the  fire  and  keep  it  over  night, 
ready  to  shake  out  and  brighten  up  the  next  morning,  it  is  difficult 
to  maintain  it  without  attention  for  six  or  seven  hours  in  a  state  of 
sufficiently  active  combustion  to  keep  steam  in  the  radiators,  and 
houses  fitted  in  this  way  are  apt  to  be  cold  during  the  night,  but  the 
self-feeding  boilers,  in  which  coal  enough  can  be  put  at  once  into  the 
magazine  to  supply  a  brisk  fire  without  attention  for  ten  or  twelve 
hours,  meet  this  difficulty  with  perfect  success. 

For  large  buildings,  in  which  economy  must  be  studied  in  the  con- 
sumption of  coal,  and  where  skilled  firemen  or  engineers  are  always 
near  at  hand  to  attend  to  it,  the  ordinary  return-flue  tubular  boiler 
usually  gives  the  best  results,  although  there  are  vari- 
'eoUars!'      ous  ratifications  °f  ^sy  made  with  vertical  tubes, 
which  offer  advantages  in  point  of  quick  response  to 
tlie   urging  of  the  fire,  and  comparative  freedom  from  liability  to 
choke  up  if  neglected.     That  all  such  boilers  are  more  or  less  liable 
to  explosion  cannot  be  denied,  but  the  danger  may  be  reduced  to  a 
minimum  by  insisting  rigidly  upon  a  hydrostatic  test,  and  if  possible 
a  steam  test,  of  at  least  150  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  even  for  a 
low-pressure  boiler,  before  it  is  allowed  to  be  put  into  the  building. 
After  this,  care,  clear  water,  which  will  not  deposit  sediment,  and 
frequent  cleaning,  will  insure  comparative  safety. 

As  affecting  the  general  efficiency  of  the  heating-apparatus,  the 
character  of  the  boiler  is  of  even  less  importance  than  that  of  the 
system   of  pipes  and  radiators  by  which  the  steam  from  it  is  dis- 
tributed, condensed,  so  as  to  give  up  its  latent  heat  in 
ipe-ystem,  sensj^}e  form,  and  returned  in  the  shape  of  water  t* 
the  boiler  from  which  it  started.     In  order  to  be  quiet  and  effective 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  829 

the  circulation  must  be  continuous,  the  steam  always  flowing  in  one 
direction  from  the  top  of  the  boiler,  and  the  water  returning  into 
the  bottom,  without  any  of  that  meeting  of  the  two  currents  which  is 
indicated  by  the  cracking  and  snapping  of  badly-planned  apparatus. 
The  necessary  elements  of  every  pipe  system  including  radiators 
are  the  steam-distributing  pipes,  which  carry  the  steam  to  the  radi- 
ators, and  the  return-pipes,  which  bring  back  the  condensed  water 
to  the  boiler.  These  two  duties  cannot  be  fulfilled  by  a  single  pipe, 
except  in  apparatus  on  the  smallest  scale,  without  loss  of  heating 
power,  and  annoyance  from  the  constant  noisy  collisions  of  the  steam 
and  water  in  the  pipes,  shaking  them  through  their  whole  length  by 
the  violence  with  which  the  water  is  driven  hither  and 
thither  in  them.  Such  a  method  of  heating,  there-  N~lse  ln 
fore,  although  cheap  in  first  cost,  is  never  employed 
in  good  work  for  buildings  of  any  considerable  size.  For  these, 
separate  returns  are,  or  should  be,  always  used,  and  the  effectiveness 
with  which  these  do  their  work  is  nearly  proportional  to  their  extent, 
and  consequent  cost.  In  the  simplest  circulating  arrangement,  two 
pipes  run  side  by  side  upward  through  the  building  near  each  line  of 
radiators,  one  of  which  is  connected  with  the  steam  dome  of  the 
boiler,  and  the  other  with  the  water  at  the  bottom.  From  the 
former  pipe  branches  are  taken  off  to  the  steam-valve  of  each  radi- 
ator, and  branches  from  the  corresponding  return-valves  connect 
with  the  other. 

If  the  process  of  condensation  took  place  only  in  the  radiators,  this 
arrangement  would  not  need  to  be  further  complicated,  but  where 
the  ste.am-distributing  pipes  are  long,  some  condensation,  with  low- 
pressure  apparatus,  takes  place  in  them,  partially  filling  the  horizon- 
tal portions  with  water,  causing  irregular  action  and  noise.  To  pre- 
vent this,  all  horizontal  distributing-pipes  are  in  good  work  laid  with 
an  inclination  downward,  in  a  direction  away  from  the  boiler,  so  that 
the  force  of  gravitation  and  the  pressure  of  the  current  of  steam  will 
co-operate  in  carrying  any  condensed  water  which 
may  form  or  collect  in  them  to  the  lowest  point,  from 
which  it  runs  out  through  a  vertical  "relief-pipe,"  which  is  carried 
down  to  the  main  return-pipe  below,  entering  beneath  the  water-line. 
If  this  is  lone,  as  it  should  be  for  all  horizontal  pipes  of  any  consid- 
urable  length,  or  so  placed  as  to  receive  the  condensed  water  from  a 


330  BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

long  vertical  distributing-pipe  above,  there  will  be  little  danger  of 
noise  in  the  supply-pipes.  The  return-pipes  may,  however,  still  give 
trouble,  as  the  steam  may  blow  -rapidly  through  some  radiators  into 
the  returns,  at  the  same  time  that  streams  of  water  are  descending 

from   radiators   situated   on  the  same  line  in  colder 
turn-R*sers"  rooms  above,  causing  collisions  and  noise.     To  meet 

this  danger,  the  proper  way  is  to  furnish  each  Radiator 
with  its  own  return-pipe,  carried  down  separately  and  entered  into 
the  main  return  in  the  basement,  below  the  water-line.  Then,  since 
the  foot  of  the  pipe  is  thus  trapped,  no  steam  can  enter  any  return- 
pipe  except  through  its  own  radiator,  and  the  flow,  both  of  steam 

and  water  through  it,  will  thus  be  always  in  the  same 
"SeturruJ      direction,   and   collisions   will  be   impossible.     Such 

separate  returns  for  each  radiator  consume,  however, 
much  pipe  and  mo*ney,  and  the  usual  mode  of  palliating  the  incon- 
veniences arising  from  the  connection  of  several  radiators  with 
a  single  vertical  return  is  simply  to  enlarge  the  pipe  so  as  to  give  as 
much  room  as  possible  for  the  steam  and  water  to  pass  by  each 
other.  Which  of  these  methods  should  be  adopted  must  depend 
upon  circumstances,  a  favorable  arrangement  of  radiators  making  it 
possible  to  use  in  one  instance  a  system  ci  piping  which  would  give 
much  trouble  in  another.  In  general,  the  radiators  should  be  so  dis- 
tributed that  no  vertical  pipe,  either  for  steam  or  return,  shall  serve 
more  than  two  radiators  on  each  floor,  and  even  then  it  is  best  to 
make  the  connections  with  the  two  radiators  at  different  levels,  to 
prevent  one  radiator  from  drawing  air  or  water,  as  well  as  steam, 
from  the  other. 

The  rule  for  the  size  of  main  steam-distributing  pipes  is  that 
they  should  have  three-fourths  of  a  square  inch  of  sectional  area  for 
each  one  hundred  square  feet  of  radiating  surface  which  they  supply ; 

the  size  being  slightly  diminished  toward  the  end  of 
Size  of  Pipes.  tjje  pipe<  Return-pipes  are  usually  made  one  size 
smaller  than  the  steam  supply-pipes,  and  it  must  be  carefully  borne 
in  mind  that  all  the  pipes,  both  for  steam  and  return,  will  expand 
and  contract  regularly  about  two  inches  in  every  hundred  feet,  and 
that  this  expansion  must  be  taken  up  in  some  way,  or  it  will  keep 
the  joints  strained  and  leaking,  if  it  does  not  tear  them  asunder. 
The  general  principle  of  providing  for  expansion  is  to  form  angles 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE.  331 

at  intervals  in  the  pipe,  making  each  leg  of  the  angle  long  enough 
to  serve  as  a  spring,  which  can  move  to  and  fro  in  accordance  with 
the  expansion  and  contraction  of  the  other  leg,  with- 
out undue  strain  upon  the  joints  of  either.  As  an  ExPanslon« 
illustration  of  this  principle,  the  vertical  steam  and  return  risers, 
which  are  usually  the  longest  straight  pipes  in  any  building,  are 
fixed  only  at  the  bottom,  leaving  the  whole  of  the  pipe  above  free  to 
rise  and  fall  as  its  temperature  changes.  The  only  branches  from 
the  risers  are,  or  should  be,  the  steam  and  water  connections  with 
the  radiators,  and  to  accommodate  these  to  the  movement  of  the 
risers,  the  radiators  are  always  set  back  several  feet  from  the  main 
vertical  pipes,  communicating  with  them  by  horizontal  branches, 
which,  although  fixed  at  one  end  to  the  radiator,  are  long  enough  to 
spring  freely,  and  allow  the  end  connected  with  the  risers  to  move 
up  and  down  without  causing  the  joints  to  leak.  If  the  risers  are 
fixed  at  the  bottom,  the  change  in  length  due  to  expansion  accumu- 
lates toward  the  upper  end,  and  the  radiators  in  the  topmost  stories 
of  the  building  may  need  inconveniently  long  horizontal  connections 
to  take  up  the  movement  without  danger  of  leakage.  In  this  case  it 
is  possible,  with  care  in  arranging  the  lower  connections  with  the 
mains,  to  divide  the  expansion  by  fixing  the  risers  only  at  the  middle 
instead  of  one  end.  Then  the  upper  and  lower  radiators  will  need 
equally  long  connections,  and  the  shortest  will  be  those  for  the 
radiators  in  the  middle  stories.  Similar  arrangements  for  throwing 
the  expansion  where  it  can  be  best  taken  up  may  be  used  in  setting 
other  pipes,  but  such  details  ought  to  be  made  the  subject  of  special 
study. 


- 


INDEX. 


S3X 


INDEX. 


PACK 

A. 

PAGE. 

Bridging,  Floors, 

70 

Abutment,    . 

Anchor,    . 
Anchorage,  . 
Angle  Bead,    . 
Arch,    .... 

282 
63,  71,  75 
59 
.     99 
62 

Bridging,  Studding, 
Broach,        .... 
Brown  Coat,    . 
Built  Beams, 
Buttresses, 

.      95 
12 
.    157 
89 
.    295 

Arch,  Calculation  of, 

.    276 

Butts,  

201 

Ashlar,         ... 

12,  62,  64 

Ashlar  Line,    . 

.        .      16 

C. 

108 

/~*             T_          • 

Avenue  Building,    . 

.     26 

Cambering, 
Capped  Flashings, 

,     66 
81 

B. 

Carpenter's  Specincation, 

.    228 

Casings,       .... 

151 

Back  Plastering, 

152 

Cement,   .... 

39 

Balloon  Frame, 

.    129 

Cesspool,     .... 

204 

Base-Board,         .        . 

102 

Chain-Bolt, 

200 

Bath-Tub,         .        . 

168 

137 

Batter-Boards,      . 

22 

Chimney,  Steam, 

.    318 

Beams,  Built,  . 

.     89 

Chimney-Bars,     . 

139 

Belly-Truss, 

89 

Church,  Construction  of, 

.      10 

Bell-Pull, 

.    200 

63 

Bells,  Specification  for, 

246 

Clay  Foundation,    . 

30,  110 

Bell-Wires,       . 

.    147 

Cold  Air  Box,      . 

178 

Bench-Mark, 

23 

Compound  Beams, 

.      89 

Bevelling  Beams,     . 

.     68 

Compression-Cocks,    . 

170 

Bibb-Cock, 

168 

38 

Blind  Nailing, 

.    191 
318 

Concreting  Floor, 
Construction  of  Stone  Chur 

180 
:h,     10 

Boilers,  Magazine,  . 

.    325 

Construction  of  Town  Hall, 

269 

Boilers,  Sectional, 

324 

Contracts, 

.    261 

Boilers,  Tubular,      . 

.    325 

Contract,  Model, 

204 

Bolts,   .        .        .      ,-ij 

1    *        200 

76 

Bonding,  .        .        •' 

.      50 

Cornice,  Stone,    . 

75 

Boston  Finish,     . 

201 

Cornice,  Plaster, 

.    157 

Brace,       . 

.     127,131 

Cottonwood,         .        .        . 

119 

Braced  Frame.    •        . 

126 

Crandle,  .... 

13 

Brick, 

.      60,  137 

Crowning  Beams, 

66 

INDEX. 


V*. 

Gable  Coping,     . 
Gas-Fitting,  Specifications  for, 
Gas-Ligkting,  Electric,  Specifi- 
cations for,  .... 
Gas-Piping, 
General  Conditions, 
Girders,        .        .        .    83,39, 

76 

258 

247 
145 

219 
124 
127 
218 
218 
248 
104 
60 
21l 
56 
166 
169 
108 
148 
59 

294 
120 
195 
243 
53 
182 
316 
258 
317 
119 
192 
201 
172 
143 

207 

74 
180 
162 

198 
76 
199 

Derrick-laid  Stones,    .        ,          67 
Diagonals,  Measuring,     .        .    ~  18 
Direct-Indirect  Radiation,  .        816 
Direction  of  Building  Operations,  3 
Dog-legged  Stairs,  .        .        .183 
Doors,          ....        194 

Door-Frames  181 
Door-Furniture,  .        .        .        195 
Draft  Line,       ....      13 

Glass,  
Glazing,   
Giazing,  Specifications  for, 
Grading,  .        .        .        .25, 
Granite,        .... 
Grass,       ....    -?>T 
Gravel  Foundation,     . 
Grease-Trap,    .... 
Ground  Cock, 
Ground  Water, 

Drainage,     ....        204 
Draining  Site,          .        .        .116 

Dry-Rot,           .        .        .69,  120 
Dry  Well  204 

E. 

Electric  Gas-lighting  Specifica- 
tion,         ....        247 
Excavation,  Specification  for,     221 
Expansion  of  Steam-Pipes,         331 
Extras,     .        .        ...        .34 

F. 
False  Girt,  ....        130 

Guy-Ropes,      .... 

H. 
Hammer-Beam  Roof, 
Hard  Pine,       .... 
Hardware,    .... 
Hardware,  Specifications  for, 

Finials  76 
Fireplaces,       .        .        .        .139 
Fire-Stop,    .        .        .        .95,  163 
Fixing  Prices,  .        .        .        .202 
Flashings,    ....          78 
Flitch  Plates  88 
Flooring  Timber,        .        .          65 

Head-room, 
Heating,  
Heating,  Specifications  for, 
Heating  Surface  of  Boiler,      . 
Hemlock,     .        . 
Herring-bone  Floor, 
Hinges, 
Hopper,  .        .        ... 

Floors,  Polishing,        .        .        217 
Flues,       .        .        .            139,318 
Footings,      ....          43 
Foundations,    .        .        .37,  307 
Frame,  Balloon,  .        .        .        129 
Frame,  Braced,        .        .        .126 

Hot-Air  Pipes,    . 

I. 

Irrigation,  Subsoil,  . 

J- 

Jamb-Stone, 

Freestone,        ....      73 

Freezing  Weather,      .        .          77 
French  Drain  26 
Fresco,         ....        217 

Joints  in  Pipe,     . 

K. 
Keys,        

Furnace,      ....        176 
Furring,  .        .        .        .142,166 

Kneelers  
Knobs,     ....    196, 

INDEX. 


835 


L. 
Laths,      .... 

154 

Pipes,  Size  of, 
Pipes,  Relief, 
Pitched  Joints, 
Plastering,    .        .        .        .97, 
Plastering,  Specification  for,  . 
Plastering,  Weight  of, 
Plate, 

330 
329 
12 
156 
227 
67 
129 
158 
249 
173 
105 
217 
69 
45 

12 

193 
65 

317 
64 
119 
329 
194 
211 
12 
109 
305 
136 
285 
167 
51 
99 

163 
166 
274 
74 
73 
195 
200 
324 
157 
157 
158 
74 
327 

Laths,  Wire, 
Lathing,   .         .      ...        ; 

154 
.    155 

Lead  Pipe,  .        .       ". 

159 

150 

Ledger  Beard,     . 
Lime,        .        .       '  »    "    . 

i:JO 
.      45 

Plumbing,    .... 
Plumbing,  Specification  for,  . 
Plunger-Closet,    . 
Pointing,  ....       14, 
Polishing  Floors, 
Protection  from  Dry-Rot, 
Puddling,     .... 

Q- 

Quarry  Face,    .... 
Quartered  Oak,  . 
Quoins,    

Locks, 
Long  Bracing,          *       . 
Lumber,       .        .  .  ;  '.  • 

M. 

Magazine  Boilers,    . 
Marble, 
Mason's  Square, 
Mason's  Specifications, 
Masonry, 
Matching,     . 
Measuring  Diagonals,      . 
Model  Contract, 
Model  Specification, 
Mortar, 

196 
.    131 
119 

.    325 
103 
.      18 
221 
.      35 
191 
.      18 
264 
.    219 
47 

R. 

Radiating  Surface, 
Random  Ashlar, 
Redwood,     .... 
Relief-Pipes,    .... 
Rift  Hard  Pine,  . 
Road-Building,         .        .      26, 
Rock  Face,  .... 
Rock  Foundation,   .        .      67, 
Rondelet's  Rule, 
Roof,        ....      78, 
Roof  Calculations, 
Round  Trap,    .... 
Rubble,        .... 

N. 
Noise  in  Steam-Pipes,     . 

0. 
Oak,     .... 

.    329 
193 

P. 

Painting, 
Painting,  Specification  for, 
Painting  Shingles,  . 
Pan-Closet, 
Parquetry, 
Partitions,  Unsupported, 
Patched  Stones, 
Pene-1  lammering, 
Peppermint  Test,    . 
Piers,    .... 
Pile-Driving,    .        . 
Piles,    .... 
Pine,         .... 
Pipe,  Lead, 
Pipe,  Brass,      . 
Pipe,  Iron,   . 
Pipe-Casings,  . 
Pipes,  Noise  in,  . 

.   212 

248 
.    149 
170 
.    191 
136 
.      76 
14 
.     174 
84 
273,  312 
273,  312 
1  19,  189 
159 
.    160 
161 
.    161 
329 

Rule  Joint,      .... 

S. 
Safes    . 

Sand,        ....      30, 

Sanders's  Formula,      . 
Sand-Holes,      .        .        .        , 
Sand-Stone, 

Sash-Fasts,  .        .       ^.         195, 
School-room  Ventilation,    . 
Scratch-Coat,  .        .        .        . 
Screeds,       .        ...        . 

Seams, 
Sectional  Boilers,    .              -,-> 

836 


INDEX. 


Setting-out, 

16 

Stone  Buildings, 

10 

Settlement, 

133 

Studding,         .        .        .. 

122,  131 

Shakes  

119 

Subsoil  Irrigation,   .        . 

.   207 

149 

Summer  Ventilation    . 

325 

Shingles,      .        .        .        . 

148 

Surf  ace-  Water, 

.    210 

Shingles,  Painting, 

149 

Shrinkage,  .... 

120 

T. 

Sill            

120 

Tf*Qf     T^rirtPrm  inf 

Silver  Grain, 

193 

j.  coij  j.  Cj-/|jcriiiintj    •          • 
Text-Books, 

1           5 

Sinks,       .        .        . 

166 

Thickness  of  Walts 

QAK 

Siphonage,  .... 

165 

Three,  Four,  Five  Rule, 

.      O\/tf 

18 

107 

Tiling 

103 

Site,  Drainage  of, 

115 

119 

Size  of  Pipes,  .... 

330 

Town-Hall,      . 

269 

Sizing,          .... 

133 

Trap  Ventilation,        ." 

165 

Slate,        ..... 

85 

Traps,      .... 

165,  167 

Slate  Stone, 

45 

Trapping  Returns, 

330 

Slating,    

149 

Trimmer  Arch, 

.    139 

Soil-Pipe,     .... 

158 

Trowelling,  . 

157 

Specifications, 

219 

142 

Specification  for  Bells, 

246 

Tubular  Boilers, 

325 

Specification  for  Carpentry,    . 

228 

• 

Specification  for  Electric  Gas- 

U. 

Lighting,  .        .        . 

247 

Under-Floors,  .        .        . 

69 

Specification  for  Excavation,  . 
Specification  for  Gas-Fitting, 
Specification  for  Glazing, 

221 

258 
248 

Underpinning, 
Unsupported  Partitions, 
Upper  Floors,      . 

118 
.    136 
188 

Specification  for  Hardware, 

243 

v 

Specification  for  Heating, 
Specification  for  Masonry,  . 
Specification  for  Painting, 
Specification  for  Plastering, 
Specification  for  Plumbing,     . 
Specification  for  Stairs, 
Spindles,          . 

258 
221 
248 
227 
249 
245 
199 

v  , 

Veins  of  Water,     . 
Veneered  Doors, 
Ventilation, 
Ventilation,  School-room, 
Ventilation,  Summer, 
Ventilation  of  Traps, 

.      33 
194 
316,  319 
324 
.    325 
165 

Splicing  Mouldings,    . 

182 

Spoil  Bank,      .... 

24 

• 

33 

Walls,  Thickness  of, 

.    305 

Spruce,    ....     119, 

188 

Waney  Timber,   . 

65 

Square,  Mason's, 

18 

Wash-Trays,    . 

.    167 

Staging  Lumber, 

61 

Water-Closets,     . 

170 

Staining,      .... 

215 

Water-Table,  . 

.     64 

^         o> 

182 

Water-Veins,       . 

S3 

Stairs,  Specification  for,      . 
Standing  Finish, 

245 
181 

Weathered  Pointing, 
Weight  of  Plastering, 

.     37 
67 

Steam-Chimney, 

318 

Weight  of  Timber, 

.     67 

Steam-Heating, 

316 

Whitewood, 

194 

Steam-Pipes, 

319 

Wind-Pressure, 

.    289 

Steam-Pipes,  Expansion  of,    . 
Steam-Pipes,  Noise  in, 

331 

329 

Window-  Frames, 
Wire  Lath,       . 

161 
.    154 

Steam-Piping,  System  ol, 

327 

Wooden  Buildings,     . 

10" 

^ 

WlUVIBSXTY] 


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Perspective  Lines. 
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